A Taipei Medical University research team found that the hemoglobin concentration levels resulting from fecal occult blood tests (FOBT) can predict the risk and mortality of colorectal cancer, and could be used to suggest the interval between screenings.
The research team was led by the university’s College of Oral Medicine associate dean Sam Chen (陳立昇) and Amy Yen (嚴明芳), and the study was published in May in JAMA Oncology, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal.
Colorectal cancer was the third leading cause of cancer deaths in Taiwan last year, Chen said, adding that government-funded FOBT is offered every two years to people aged 50 to 74 for routine screening of colorectal cancer.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Government
The cohort study included data from more than 3.5 million people who received the FOBT from 2004 and 2014, and followed up until 2019. It analyzed the data to study the relationship between fecal hemoglobin concentration and colorectal tumors, and death from colorectal cancer.
Chen said they found that increasing fecal hemoglobin concentration levels indicate more colorectal tumors and higher colorectal cancer mortality risk, allowing for stratification of risk groups, and can be used for calibrating suitable screening intervals.
Usually, a hemoglobin concentration level above 20mcg/g is considered positive, with a higher risk of cancer and requiring a colonoscopy follow-up, he said.
About half of those who had a positive FOBT result were detected to have polyps in a colonoscopy follow-up, while about 20 percent had progressive polyps, and about 5 percent had colorectal cancer, he said.
Chen said their study found that fecal hemoglobin concentration levels can be used to more accurately assess colorectal cancer risk and mortality rates, and to personalize screening intervals, with shorter intervals for higher fecal hemoglobin levels.
The biennial FOBT has been proven to reduce the risk of late-stage colorectal cancer by 29 percent and the risk of colorectal cancer death by 35 percent, he said.
Their findings further demonstrated how to achieve precision inter-screening intervals for optimizing the use of FOBT and colonoscopy, he said.
With personalized fecal hemoglobin concentration screening, FOBTs can be reduced by 49 percent and colonoscopies by 28 percent, he said, adding that this could optimize medical resources, and reduce unnecessary testing and risks while ensuring that high-risk groups get necessary testing and treatment promptly.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
RSS