The work of the Felix Burda Foundation is now even more important

Around nine million people have taken part in this preventive measure since the introduction of statutory screening colonoscopy in 2002. This prevented around 160,000 deaths and 330,000 new cases. From 2000 to 2016, the age-standardized incidence rate for women and men fell by almost a quarter. The reduction in the mortality rate is even clearer: between 2000 and 2018 it fell by 35.8 percent in men and by as much as 40.5 percent in women.

Conclusion: fewer and fewer people are getting sick and dying from colon cancer

These are great successes in colon cancer screening in Germany and the Felix Burda Foundation has played an enormous part in this. However, the pleasing trend of declining cases could soon reverse, as Prof. Michael Hoffmeister from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) explained at the kick-off symposium for bowel cancer month in March, organized by the network against bowel cancer association and supported by the Felix Burda Foundation.

Hoffmeister and his colleagues in Heidelberg have in one modeling study calculates how the incidences of colorectal cancer will develop in the future. If the participation rate in screening colonoscopy remains at the previous low level in the coming decades, there will be around 20 percent more new cases in 2040. And by 2050, the number of colorectal cancer cases is expected to increase from around 61,300 to 77,000 annually, an increase of around 25 percent. The scientists see the reason for this radical increase in the increasing aging and the associated increase in the risk of cancer. The group of those aged 67 and older is expected to increase from 16 million in 2019 to over 21 million in 2060.

In order to counteract this increase in colorectal cancer cases, the participation rate would have to be doubled by 2030 and even tripled from 2040. And even then, the incidence could only be kept at today’s level, but definitely not reduced.

In the USA one is already further

In the USA they are already further along. The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable did Ziel #80inEveryCommunity issued: A participation rate of 80%. Prof. Mark Pochapin vom NYU Langone Health Hospital in New York explained the chances of this goal very clearly: With a screening rate of 80 percent, around 203,000 deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented by 2030. “That’s the equivalent of 3.7 full Yankee stadiums in New York,” Pochapin said. A gigantic number of people!

In Germany, on the other hand, in 2018 only 1.7 percent of eligible women and 1.9 percent of eligible men had a colonoscopy with preventive intent. After the start of the invitation process in July 2019, these numbers are likely to have improved, but there are still no more up-to-date participation rates.

In view of this disturbing, threatening development in the numbers, it is essential that there is continued intensive education about the opportunities for colorectal cancer screening and a constant improvement in organized colorectal cancer screening in Germany.

Felix Burda Foundation wants more participants in colorectal cancer screening

The Felix Burda Foundation will play a key role in this. The foundation follows the recommendations of the DKFZ scientists in order to achieve an increase in participation rates.

These include improving the existing invitation procedure in order to motivate more people to have colorectal cancer screening, especially people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The information materials that are sent to insured persons as part of the invitation procedure are also considered by Prof. Hoffmeister to be more of a deterrent than motivating and also to be too demanding for medical laypeople.
The currently practiced stool test screening offer is also too complicated and requires a lot of time investment from the insured. Take-up could be increased threefold relatively easily if hurdles were lowered, according to the scientist. The DKFZ also recommends lowering the screening age from 55 to 50 for women and expanding the current range of a maximum of two screening colonoscopies.

Note: The Felix Burda Foundation, like FOCUS online, belongs to Hubert Burda Media.