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In its fourth edition, the 2021 Cancer Barometer of the National Cancer Institute, published on January 30, notes a worrying trend regarding cancer screening. The figures would be in “continuous and significant decline” compared to previous Barometers.
Screening figures in France do not reach European targets and the trend is clearly downward, according to the 2021 Cancer Barometer, published by the National Cancer Institute (InCa) and Public Health France. Figures that worry because participation in screening campaigns is considered insufficient.
Breast and cervical cancer: insufficient screening
Breast cancer screening by mammography is recommended for women between the ages of 50 and 74 and should be done every two years. “Over the 2020-2021 period, participation in this screening is 46.6%, well below the European objective of 70%” write the authors of the Barometer. A significant drop, 18.7 points less compared to 2010. However, detected at an early stage, breast cancer survival is “99% at 5 years and it is only 26% when this cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage” again recalls the Barometer.
The same goes for cancers of the cervix, for which participation in screening is 76.8%, where the European objective is set at 85%.
As for men, only 33.4% of those aged over 50 said they had already undergone a screening examination for prostate cancer. In 2010, this proportion was higher by 18.2 points.
Less than one in two French people concerned have been screened for colorectal cancer
According to the figures reported by the 2021 Barometer, only 43% of people concerned by screening claim to have been screened for colorectal cancer, a figure quite far from the European target set at 65%.
As a reminder, screening for colorectal cancer is recommended for men and women aged 50 to 74, every two years, to “detect cancer early” and “increase the chances of recovery” from this pathology. Indeed, if detected at an early stage, “its 5-year survival reaches 90%, it is only 14.3% when this cancer is detected at a metastatic stage” also recall the authors. A strong argument when we know the frequency of colorectal cancer, 3e most common cancer in mene and the 2nd in women.
Try to reverse the trend
For health authorities, the trend is “worrying, marked by a continuous and significant decline in the declaration of participation in organized screening programs“. After making this observation, she also recalls that “the effectiveness of screening in cancer prevention is established” and that it is necessary to “enhance the levers of action to increase the levels of membership”.