CRC Screening, Past, Present, and Future: A Tribute to Emmet Keeffe

Excerpt

The stunning improvements in cancer survival over the past few decades represent triumphs of modern medicine. Colorectal cancer (CRC), which is included in the top three most prevalent cancers worldwide, is no exception, with declining incidence and improved survival extending from before the 1970s in economically developed countries, most pronounced in the USA [1]. The exciting and unique story with CRC for our profession is that much of these declines can be attributed to the interventions conducted by gastroenterologists and related specialists particularly since the 1990s, when screening colonoscopy first gained traction. The widespread adoption of this screening modality represents a victory for preventative medicine and a boon for our profession. This, of course comes at a price, since colonoscopy, at least the way it is practiced in the USA, is a costly, time-consuming, and—at least in its preparation—uncomfortable. Therefore, the search for new stool- and blood-based CRC screening tests is intense, as is desire to understand CRC pathophysiology, as described later in the Special Issue. …