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Guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening has reduced colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality in three large randomized controlled trials. Investigators of one trial in the U.K. now report long-term follow-up data.
In the study, 152,850 individuals aged 45 to 74 were randomized to receive guaiac-based screening without rehydration every other year or no screening. Previously reported results from this trial based on intent-to-treat analysis showed that the risk for CRC mortality was reduced in the screening group by 15% and 13% compared with the control group at median follow-up of 7.8 years and 11 years, respectively. At the time of the current analyses, patient enrollment had been finished for 18 years and screening for 15 years; 53%…