FECAL OCCULT BLOOD TESTING FOR COLORECTAL-CANCER IN AN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE POPULATION

Fecal occult blood test kits were distributed throughout the ethnicall y diverse Hawaiian Islands during a 3-week period in 1989. Occult bloo d was detected in 1,631 persons (11.8%). At least 83% of the participa nts with positive tests sought medical advice. Subsequently, 76 (4.7%) were diagnosed as having colorectal adenomas and an additional 1.4% h ad malignant neoplasms (3 gastric and 20 colorectal adenocarcinomas). Three quarters of the colorectal cancers were localized and node-negat ive. Participation in this program and the type of diagnostic studies done on participants with positive tests varied according to sex and e thnicity. Therefore, these demographic variables must be considered in designing fecal occult blood screening programs.