Measuring long-term real-world benefits of Catalonia’s colorectal cancer screening programme

Xavier Castells

Fundació Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Spain

Colorectal cancer is a major public health problem in Spain, but early detection can improve outcomes and reduce deaths. In Catalonia, screening uses a simple home test that detects hidden blood in stool to identify people who may need further examination. Although clinical trials have shown that this approach can reduce deaths from colorectal cancer, there is less evidence about its long-term impact under routine, real-world conditions. This project aims to evaluate the programme’s benefits for colorectal cancer prevention.

The team will evaluate how effective the programme is in daily practice by assessing its impact on colorectal cancer mortality and incidence. Using population health data and robust epidemiological methods, the researchers will address biases that can affect screening evaluations.

The project aims to make colorectal cancer prevention more effective and help guide improvements in programme organisation, communication and resource allocation. The results could also support more equitable preventive care by informing strategies adapted to age, sex and socioeconomic differences.

• Antoni Castells, Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona - Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Spain

Long-term effectiveness of population-based colorectal cancer screening with fecal immunochemical test

€148,852.00