Breaking News: CRC Screening Recommended for 2022 Medicaid Core Set

Earlier today the Medicaid Child and Adult Core Set Annual Review Workgroup met to make recommendations for changes to the Child and Adult Core Sets for 2022 and voted unanimously to recommend adding colorectal cancer screening as a quality measure.

Next steps for the Workgroup include release of a draft report for public comment in July 2021, release of a final report in August 2021, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) review of final report and additional stakeholder input September to December 2021, and the release of the 2022 Core Sets by December 31, 2021.

Thank you to the numerous NCCRT members and partners that helped pave the way for this major milestone in tracking and reporting on CRC screening!

Replay Available: 2021 Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Webcast

Did you miss NCCRT’s April 15 webinar: Colorectal Cancer Screening & COVID-19 Update: A Look at the Current Landscape One Year into the Pandemic? Now you can watch the replay! Watch the webinar replay to learn what progress we’ve made and what challenges remain for colorectal cancer screening in 2021.

Upcoming NCCRT Member Events Addressing Early Age Onset CRC

The Colon Cancer Foundation is hosting the 7th Annual Early-Age Onset Colorectal Cancer Summit in a virtual format, May 14th through 16th, 2021. Similar to prior Summits, expert faculty will contribute to in-depth discussions on:

• The earliest recognition of symptoms and timely diagnosis of early-onset disease;

• Assessing risk factors and the importance of family health history;

• Ensuring the care plan includes quality of life and fertility preserving treatment;

• Identifying all probable causes of the disease.

CME opportunities are available. Visit eaocrc.org to view the complete schedule and see the faculty listing. Registration is complimentary.

Fight Colorectal Cancer is hosting the 2021 Rally on Research, an interactive two-day event onJune 24-25, 2021, inspired and co-hosted by Dr. José Perea of Madrid, Spain. Engage with other researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates to build a path toward a cure for early-age onset colorectal cancer. Learn more and register.

Relevant Journal Articles, Publications, & Other News

• The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) published an updated NCCN Clinical Practice Guideline in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for colorectal cancer screening on March 25 that lowers the recommended age to start colorectal cancer screening in average risk adults to age 45.

• “Estimated Projection of US Cancer Incidence and Death to 2040,” published in JAMA Network Open on April 7, includes the following sobering prediction: “In the group aged 20 to 49 years, colorectal cancer was estimated to become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths by 2030.”

• Two recent publications estimate COVID-19 pandemic impacts to utilization of stool-based colorectal cancer screening tests:

• “Model-Based Estimation of Colorectal Cancer Screening and Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” published in JAMA Network Open on April 12.
• “Non-invasive Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests Help Close Screening Gaps during COVID-19 Pandemic,” published in Gastroenterology on April 15, with commentary published in Reuters on April 30.

• Candace Henley, founder of the Blue Hat Foundation and NCCRT Steering Committee member, shared the story of her experience as a Black woman navigating the healthcare system leading up to her colon cancer diagnosis at age 35 on KCM (Katie Couric Media) on April 26: Navigating the Healthcare Gap: One Woman’s Story of Survival.

• Ibram X. Kendi, an American author, professor, anti-racist activist, and historian of race, shared his experience as a colon cancer survivor and highlighted the disproportionate impacts of the disease on Blacks and African Americans in GQ on April 22: Scar Stories: The Toll of Colon Cancer.

Reminder: Save the Date for the 2021 NCCRT Annual Meeting & 80% in Every Community Conference

We hope you will save the dates to join us for NCCRT’s 25th Annual Meeting and second 80% in Every Community Conference November 15-17, 2021. We don’t yet know whether our meeting will be offered as an in-person meeting, virtual meeting, or a hybrid of the two, but we will share more in the coming months. For now, please mark your calendars! Updates will be shared in this newsletter and on the event webpage.