Colorectal Cancer: A Preventable Cancer

How does colorectal cancer develop?

Colorectal cancer develops from the cells that line the inner wall of the colon or rectum. Most often, these malignant tumors originate from a benign tumor that grows slowly and eventually becomes cancerous.

How can colorectal cancer be detected?

Colorectal cancer can be detected at an early stage through screening for occult blood in the stool. In France, an organized screening program is offered every two years to people aged 50 to 74, inviting them to take a screening test. People with a positive test result are invited to undergo a colonoscopy to detect the possible presence of precancerous lesions or cancer.

What are the risk factors for colorectal cancer?

Several modifiable risk factors related to lifestyle (alcohol consumption, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity, being overweight or obese, and a diet low in fiber and high in red meat or processed meats) have been identified, and these cancers are therefore partly preventable.

Colorectal Cancer: Key Screening Results for 2020–2021

Nearly 35% of the population underwent colorectal cancer screening in 2020–2021, an increase from the previous period (2018–2019) but still below the European standard (45%)

• 6.1 million people underwent colorectal cancer screening in 2020–2021, representing a participation rate of 34.6% versus 30.5% in 2018–2019. Participation in the organized colorectal cancer screening program is at its highest level since 2010. The health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 does not appear to have had a significant impact on program participation at the national level. Several factors could, however, explain the increase in 2021, such as greater public adherence to screening or a catch-up in results due to a supply disruption of screening kits. We will have to wait for next year’s results to better understand and interpret those of the past two years.

• Participation rates were higher among women (35.7%) than among men (33.5%), increasing with age and varying by department:

  • among men: from 31.9% among those aged 50–54 to 39.6% among those aged 70–74

  • among women: from 33.5% among those aged 50–54 to 39.5% among those aged 70–74

  • the lowest rates are observed in French Guiana (8.1%), Guadeloupe (17.0%), and Corsica (17.3%)

  • the highest rates are observed in Maine-et-Loire (49.2%), Saône-et-Loire (46.2%), and Isère (45.8%)

• Positive test rate of 3.6% (219,910 people tested positive), higher among men (4.3%) than among women (3.0%), increasing with age and varying by department:

  • among men: from 3.7% among those aged 50–54 to 5.7% among those aged 70–74

  • among women: from 2.7% among those aged 50–54 to 3.8% among those aged 70–74

  • it also varies by department from 3.2% to 4.4%

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