Colorectal cancer screening in the Czech Republic – past, present, and future

The National Colorectal Cancer Screening Program has been conducted in the Czech Republic since 2000 and serves as an example of interdisciplinary collaboration. Specialists from gastroenterology, general practice, gynecology, and clinical biochemistry are involved in the program. It is based on two primary methods: the screening fecal immunochemical test for occult bleeding (iFOBT, FIT) and preventive colonoscopy (FOBT-positive colonoscopy and screening colonoscopy). The program‘s effectiveness is evidenced by the high number of detected colorectal precancerous and malignant lesions. Between 2006 and 2023, a total of 531,362 preventive colonoscopies were performed, diagnosing 202,575 patients with adenomas (38.1%) and 14,473 patients with cancers (2.7%). Program quality is monitored by indicators focused on both organization (target population coverage) and screening methods. Coverage with screening tests in a 2-year interval has consistently ranged around 30%, except between 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic (27%), reaching 30.0% in 2023. Non-screening tests also affect epidemiological indicators, with total coverage by all relevant methods in a 2-year interval in 2023 amounting to 37.5%. Colonoscopies are evaluated using six parameters (number of examinations, bowel preparation quality, total colonoscopies, and adenoma detection rate in total, in both women and men). In 2023, 72% of screening colonoscopy centers met all of these indicators. FOBT analyzers now must have the regular external quality assessment (EQA), which should help stabilize test positivity, standing at 9.1% in 2023. Thanks to the National Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, favorable epidemiological trends have been observed, with a 32.3% decrease in incidence and a 47.8% decrease in mortality between 2000 and 2022. The future of the program lies in its further optimization, with a goal of both increasing coverage of the target population by examination and quality improvement, ensuring the program’s feasibility and efficiency. Key words: colorectal cancer – adenoma – screening – colonoscopy – fecal immunochemical test – quality indicators