Colorectal cancer | Quebec remains the only province without organized screening
(Montreal) Three organizations are urging the Quebec government to implement a screening program for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women in the country. Quebec is the only Canadian province without such a program.
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In a press release released Wednesday, Colorectal Cancer Canada, the Quebec Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society recall that almost three years ago, a motion was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly calling for the implementation of the Quebec Colorectal Cancer Screening Program by the end of the mandate of the Coalition Avenir Québec government.
The program would offer screening to people aged 50 to 74 through systematic invitations (as is done, for example, for breast cancer). The burden would therefore no longer fall on people who must request the fecal occult blood immunochemical test (iFOBT) themselves. Currently, approximately 40% of this population is being screened, while the target level is 60%, said Barry D. Stein, CEO of Colorectal Cancer Canada, in an interview.
It is difficult to explain why Quebec is taking so long to set up an organized screening program. According to him, the province has the necessary resources to implement it. “The program was announced, it’s just that we didn’t implement the program as such and every year that I ask for this, there is another excuse. Generally, it’s the computer science question we’ve been waiting for for 15 years. But this is not an excuse and frankly, the rest of us, with the Quebec Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society, have said enough is enough,” says Mr. Stein.
“It’s very frustrating,” he adds. […] All politicians admit that we need a program, but for one unexplained reason or another, we do not have a program and we are the last province in Canada, even the other territories have launched their program. How can all the other provinces do it and Quebec is not able to do it? It’s impossible to understand and the money is there. »
Increase in incidence rate among those under 50
According to the most recent data, approximately 7,300 Quebecers will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year, and 2,350 will die from it. Across Canada, 26,400 people will be diagnosed, 50% of whom are of working age.
When detected at an early stage (stage 1), the survival rate for colon cancer exceeds 90%, but this drops significantly when the disease is detected at an advanced stage.
The 5-year net survival for stage 4 is 11%, meaning that just 11% of people diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer will live at least 5 years following diagnosis.
Another worrying trend is emerging in relation to this cancer: the incidence rate among those under 50 is increasing rapidly. To the point where some countries have decided to lower the age for colorectal cancer screening in order to detect it as early as possible. This is the case of the United States which lowered the age for starting screening to 45 in 2021.
The three organizations raising a red flag on Wednesday are asking the Quebec government to mandate the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) to study the possibility of lowering the screening age to 45 in the province.
Canadians born after 1980 now have a two to two and a half times higher risk of being diagnosed before age 50 than previous generations.
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