Next Article in Journal
Effect of exercise in reducing breast and chest-wall pain in patients with breast cancer: a pilot study
Previous Article in Journal
Fitness to Drive in Patients with Brain Tumours: The Influence of Mandatory Reporting Legislation on Radiation Oncologists in Canada
 
 
Current Oncology is published by MDPI from Volume 28 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Multimed Inc..
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Specialists’ Perceptions of Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Screening in Newfoundland and Labrador

1
Division of Community Health and Humanities, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2
Discipline of Medical Genetics, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Oncol. 2012, 19(3), 123-128; https://doi.org/10.3747/co.19.932
Submission received: 2 March 2012 / Revised: 4 April 2012 / Accepted: 6 May 2012 / Published: 1 June 2012

Abstract

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (crc) screening is particularly valuable in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), where a substantial proportion of crc cases have a hereditary link. We examined the perceptions of gastroenterologists and general surgeons with respect to screening practices for patients with hereditary crc. Methods: We surveyed all gastroenterologists and general surgeons in NL to determine demographic and professional practice characteristics and screening knowledge, practices, and attitudes for four groups of patients with hereditary crc. Results: Of the 43 eligible physicians, 36 (83.7%) responded. Most of the physicians surveyed knew the correct age to start screening, preferred screening by colonoscopy, had a systematic means in their own practice of prioritizing patients for screening, and felt that family doctors or patients (or both) should be responsible for monitoring screening compliance. Most physicians reported that patients with hereditary nonpolyposis crc and familial adenomatous polyposis waited 3 months for screening; patients with a family history of crc or adenomatous polyp waited 6 months or longer. Although respondents agreed on the need for a province-wide crc registry [4.36 on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree)], they disagreed that wait times were reasonable (2.81) and that other health professionals should perform colonoscopies (2.86). They were equivocal about the need for centralized bookings (3.25) and about whether genetic testing is useful for prioritizing patients (3.25). Conclusions: Gastroenterologists and general surgeons in NL were knowledgeable about screening, but had varying opinions about individual roles in screening, wait times, and the means for prioritizing and providing screening for patients with hereditary crc.
Keywords: colorectal cancer; familial; hereditary; specialists; screening colorectal cancer; familial; hereditary; specialists; screening

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

MacEachern, J.; Mathews, M.; Green, J.; Pullman, D. Specialists’ Perceptions of Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Screening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Curr. Oncol. 2012, 19, 123-128. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.19.932

AMA Style

MacEachern J, Mathews M, Green J, Pullman D. Specialists’ Perceptions of Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Screening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Current Oncology. 2012; 19(3):123-128. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.19.932

Chicago/Turabian Style

MacEachern, J., M. Mathews, J. Green, and D. Pullman. 2012. "Specialists’ Perceptions of Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Screening in Newfoundland and Labrador" Current Oncology 19, no. 3: 123-128. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.19.932

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop