One-Time Screening for Colorectal Cancer with Combined Fecal Occult-Blood Testing and Examination of the Distal Colon

Fecal occult-blood testing and sigmoidoscopy have been recommended for screening for colorectal cancer, but the sensitivity of such combined testing for detecting neoplasia is uncertain. At 13 Veterans Affairs medical centers, we performed colonoscopy to determine the prevalence of neoplasia and the sensitivity of one-time screening with a fecal occult-blood test plus sigmoidoscopy.Asymptomatic subjects (age range, 50 to 75 years) provided stool...