Cancer Association: Incidence of colon cancer down

Morbidity rates for colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer, continue to drop in Israel, but only a small proportion of Israelis undergo potentially life-saving early detection exams. This, according to data presented by the Israel Cancer Association yesterday.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the ICA is waging its own public-relations campaign to raise awareness within the Israeli public. Health Ministry figures indicate colon cancer is the second-most common form of cancer in the country, and last year 3,181 individuals were diagnosed with the disease of the total 26,000 new cancer cases in 2008. Some 1,300 people died from colon cancer last year.

Dr. Micha Bar Hana, head of the ministry's cancer registry, said the drop in colon cancer rates in Israel are similar to that witnessed recently in the United States. He said the lower morbidity rate can be partially attributed to anti-cholesterol medications and the higher incidence of colonoscopy procedures for early detection.

He added, however, that colon cancer is only becoming less prevalent in Israel's Jewish population, and the Arab community has seen no such drop, largely because of different dietetic practices and fewer colonoscopy tests.

ICA director Miri Ziv called on the Health Ministry yesterday to increase funding to raise awareness on early detection measures. Prof. Yaron Niv, head of the gastroenterology department at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, stressed the importance of general practitioners referring patients to colorectal exams, and urged family members of people afflicted with colon cancer to undergo colonoscopies.

Over 33,000 people aged 50-74 underwent fecal occult blood tests (which can detect the formation of cancerous cells in the colon) last year in a program operated jointly by a number of health maintenance organizations and the Health Ministry. However, this figure marks only 31 percent of the population within this age bracket recommended to undergo the exam, according to standards set by the HMOs and the Health Ministry.

The examination rate is significantly higher than the same figure 10 years ago, but still lower than the target rate. Ministry data show the lives of over 400 people were saved thanks to such tests. Still, approximately 40 percent of those given the blood tests took the next step of undergoing a colonoscopy.