Blog Post

CRC News – Week of June 5, 2017

CRC News – Week of June 5, 2017
The following email news update was shared with NCCRT members and partners on June 8th, 2017. Please email [email protected] to subscribe to our regular email updates.

New Blog on 80% by 2018 Partner Survey Results
We wanted to let you know that a new 80% by 2018 Blog sharing highlights from the 80% by 2018 Partner Survey, is available at: http://nccrt.org/80-by-2018-blog/  One of the most exciting findings is that in both 2015 and 2016 more than two thirds of responding pledged organizations indicated that that they launched, expanded, or intensified their colorectal cancer screening activities after getting involved in the 80% by 2018 initiative and more than half have plans for more.

If you or your colleagues would like to share on social media, you are welcome to use our shortened URL (http://ow.ly/WL2dI) and/or to retweet/repost the messages we’ve already shared through @NCCRTnews and facebook.com/coloncancerroundtable.

Many thanks to blog author Emily Bell!

New Brief on What Radiologist Can Do to Advance 80% by 2018
We’re pleased to share a new co-branded brief for radiologists interested in advancing the 80% by 2018 effort. The brief is housed on this page: http://nccrt.org/tools/80-percent-by-2018/ and is a part of a series of briefs that outline ideas for various pledge partners about possible roles in the 80% by 2018 effort.

Many thanks to the American College of Radiology, the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance and the Society of Abdominal Radiology for their work on this brief, but especially Dr. Beth McFarland, who had the initial vision for this document, as well as to Emily Bell for all her work getting it finalized.

Webinar on Role of Survivors and Caregivers in 80% by 2018
We are often asked how survivors and caregivers can help with the 80% by 2018 effort.  In honor of National Survivor’s Day, which was June 4th, we thought you might enjoy this Fight CRC webinar from last April in which NCCRT Director Mary Doroshenk shares her thoughts on the important role that survivors and caregivers can play in supporting 80% by 2018 efforts:  https://fightcolorectalcancer.org/fight/library/80-2018-april-18-2018-webinar/

Relevant Journal Articles
In case you missed them, here are a few relevant journal articles that may be of interest.  Many thanks to Becky Siegel and Stacey Fedewa for bringing these to our attention:
http://annals.org/aim/article/2628679/racial-ethnic-disparities-interval-colorectal-cancer-incidence-population-based-cohort  The study concluded that “among elderly Medicare enrollees, the risk for interval CRC was higher in black persons than in white persons; the difference was more pronounced for cancer of the distal colon and rectum and for physicians with higher polyp detection rates.”  Congratulations to Stacey Fedewa, Ahmedin Jemal, Chyke A. Doubeni and the other authors!

Advanced-Stage Colorectal Cancer in Persons Younger Than 50 Years Not Associated With Longer Duration of Symptoms or Time to Diagnosis  The study finds:  “A higher proportion of patients with young-onset CRC were diagnosed with advanced-stage tumors (72%) compared with older patients (63%) (P [ .03). Larger proportions of patients with young-onset CRC also had a family history of CRC (25% vs 17% in older patients; P [ .03), confirmed or probable hereditary cancer syndromes (7% vs 1% in older patients; P < .01), and left-sided disease (distal colon cancer in 41% vs 34% in older patients; P [ .01; and rectal cancer in 40% vs 35% in older patients; P [ .29). Patients with young-onset CRC had a significantly longer median time to diagnosis (128 vs 79 days for older patients; P < .05), symptom duration (60 vs 30 days for older patients; P < .01), and time of evaluation (31 vs 22 days; P < .05). In multivariable analyses, time to diagnosis was 1.4-fold longer for younger than for older patients (P < .01). Among younger patients, those with stage III or IV CRC had shorter durations of symptoms and evaluations than those with stage I or II CRC.  Congratulations to the study authors!

Findings in young adults at colonoscopy from a hospital service database audit  The study concluded that “sessile serrated adenoma/polyps (SSA/P) were the most frequently observed CRC precursor lesions in patients aged <50. Most CRCs in this age group are known to arise in the distal colon and rectum suggesting that lesions other than SSA/P may serve as the precursor for the majority of early-onset CRC.”  Congratulations to the study authors!

Save the Date:  June 27th webinar at 2:00pm ET for Updated CRC Evaluation 101 Toolkit
The NCCRT will soon be releasing an updated CRC Evaluation 101 Toolkit.  The updated toolkit will still review the seven steps to evaluation, but will now include guidance on evaluating provider, systems change and policy change interventions related to CRC screening, as well as an expanded appendix of tools and resources.  Please mark your calendars for our Tuesday, June 27th webinar at 2:00pm ET during which we’ll review the updates to the toolkit. Webinar content will be covered until 3:00pm ET, but speakers will stay on until 3:15pm ET to answer questions.  Registration is not yet open, but please save the date.

Save the Date:  July 27th webinar at 1:00pm ET with a report from the Links of Care pilots
As many of you know, the Links of Care pilot is a pilot supported by the American Cancer Society and the NCCRT with funding from Walgreens and additional support from CDC.  The Links of Care pilot aims to promote collaboration between Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) serving low-income patients and specialty providers of colonoscopy services to increase access to both screening and diagnostic tests following abnormal stool test result .  The NCCRT will be hosting a webinar on Thursday, July 27th during which we’ll hear from the three pilot sites involved in the Links of Care project.  Topics covered will include: implementation, workflows, advice and lessons learned. Registration is not yet open, but please save the date.

Karen Walsh Rullman Tribute:
As many of you heard, Karen Walsh, who spoke so eloquently and beautifully at last year’s NCCRT annual meeting and the Countdown to 2018 event, passed away last week.  The family’s tribute to Karen is posted here: https://karenwalshrullman.org/1975-2017/  It captures her spirit quite beautifully, and the family has invited us to share it with all of you.

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