Diagnosis and management of head and neck cancers in a high-incidence area in France: A population-based study.

Head and neck cancers have a very poor prognosis and are common in France. They are subject to various recommendations for early detection and management, but there is no detailed data in the French general population to fuel the public health debate on it.A high-resolution population-based study about cancer management was conducted, using cancers registries in the north-west of France, on 1729 tumors diagnosed between 2008 and 2010.The tumors were diagnosed late (70.3% stage III-IV), mainly after the onset of symptoms (93.2%). After adjustment, advanced stages were more frequent in patients with hypopharyngeal [adjusted odds ratio (ORa): 4.68; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.11-7.05] and oropharyngeal tumors (ORa: 2.84; 95% CI 2.02-3.99) compared with oral cavity ones. They were also more frequent in patients with moderate (ORa 1.68; 95% CI 1.12-2.52) or severe comorbidities (ORa 1.86; 95% CI: 1.23-2.80). A multidisciplinary meeting (MM) had taken place in 96.9% of cases. The assessment included a panendoscopy in 80.3% of cases, a cervical computerized tomography (CT) scan in 89.3% and a chest CT scan in 87.3%. The vast majority of patients (90.7%) had received treatment, with surgery in 48.7% of cases and/or radiotherapy in 76.9%.Despite the recommendations for early detection, diagnoses are often made late, even for tumors that can be detected by a direct visual and tactile examination of the oral cavity. However, the major risk of advanced stage concerns deep tumors and the most weakened subjects. Otherwise, diagnostic assessment is broadly consistent with the recommendations, and multidisciplinary treatment decisions are widespread.

Evaluation of an immunochemical fecal occult blood test with automated reading in screening for colorectal cancer in a general average-risk population.

Colorectal cancer screening is a high public health priority in all industrialized countries. However, the low sensitivity of the common guaiac screening test (HemoccultII) makes practitioners and public health decision makers reluctant to set up a national screening program. In recent years, immunochemical tests based on the use of a specific antibody have been found to be more sensitive than the HemoccultII test. However, for screening purposes, any gain in sensitivity is of interest only if specificity and positive predictive value are satisfactory. Our aim was to assess the performance of an immunochemical test with an automated reading technique (Magstream 1000) for different hemoglobin content cut-off points. The study was carried out in the general population aged 50-74 years in the geographic area of Cotentin (Normandy, France). From 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002, 7,421 one-time screening tests (Magstream) were administered by general practitioners and occupational physicians to patients at the end of regular consultations. Colonoscopy was proposed to the 434 people with a positive test. All cancers occurring in the study population between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2003 were collected by general practitioners, gastroenterologists and the local registry. At the usual positivity threshold (20 ng hemoglobin/ml), screening sensitivity and specificity at 2 years of follow-up with 95% CIs were, respectively, 0.85 (0.72-0.98) and 0.94 (0.94-0.95). If the hemoglobin content cut-off point had been set at 50 ng/ml instead of the usual cut-off, positivity would have been 3.1% and positive predictive value for a cancer or a large adenoma would have been 0.49, with sensitivity of 0.68-0.83 and specificity of 0.97. Our results suggest that use of an immunochemical test with an automated reading technique could improve the prospects for mass-screening for colorectal cancer since it offers a promising alternative to guaiac tests.