FAMILIAL HISTORY OF COLORECTAL-CANCER AND SCREENING PRACTICES - A VOLUNTARY POPULATION SURVEY

Objectives. - To analyze the association between colorectal cancer pos itive family history and screening practices. Methods. - The study con cerned 6733 individuals attending a center for periodic health examina tion. Results. - Five hundred fifty four patients (8.2 %) declared a p ositive family history of colorectal cancer; 269 (4 %) were first degr ee relatives of the affected member and among them, 73 (1.1 %) have po inted out the occurrence of at least one cancer case below age 50. Out of 554 subjects with a family history (regardless the degree of kinsh ip), 132 (23.8 %) have had an endoscopic examination versus 8.9 % of s ubjects without positive family history. The rate of endoscopy increas ed with the number of cases in a family (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. - Fa mily members undertake more endoscopic examinations when a family hist ory of colorectal is reported A correlation with the number of affecte d relatives has been found.