Canadian cancer screening rates rise

Mammography use and colorectal cancer testing are up in Canada, according to two research articles published in Statistics Canada's Health Reports that include data from the 2008 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS).

In an article titled "An update on mammography use in Canada," Margot Shields and Kathryn Wilkins of Statistics Canada's Health Analysis Division in Ottawa wrote that in 2008, 72% of women ages 50 to 69 reported having had a mammogram in the previous two years, up from 40% in 1990. All of the increase occurred between 1990 and 2001, after which rates stabilized, according to the authors.

Use of mammography declined among women in the lowest-income households between 2005 and 2008: In 2008, 61% of women in this category had received a mammogram in the previous two years, compared with 67% in 2005.

As for colorectal cancer testing, in an article titled "Colorectal cancer testing in Canada," Shields and Wilkins found that in 2008, 40% of Canadians ages 50 or older reported having had a fecal occult blood test in the past two years, or a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy in the past five years.

The likelihood of testing was lower in provinces east of Ontario, but higher in Manitoba and Ontario. In 2007, the latter provinces launched province-wide colorectal cancer screening programs.

In 2008, the likelihood of colorectal testing was greatest among those who had a regular doctor with whom they had consulted in the previous year: 44% of people in this category had been tested, compared to 10% of people without a regular doctor and who had not seen a doctor in the previous year, according to the report.

Related Reading

Declines in U.S. breast cancer rates not uniform, June 29, 2009

Colorectal cancer screening increased in older Americans, September 30, 2008

Follow-up care lacking for many older colon cancer survivors, September 11, 2008

Falling breast cancer rates seen only in whites, April 17, 2008

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