Colorectal neoplasia prevalence in a predominantly Hispanic community: Results from a colorectal cancer screening program in Texas

Background: A community-based, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program for uninsured/underinsured individuals was successfully implemented in El Paso, Texas to increase CRC screening rates. Our aim was to determine the colorectal neopla-sia prevalence among program participants and between screening groups. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed participant records from 2012 to 2017. Average-risk patients were first screened with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and included if positive. Above average-risk patients due to a family history of CRC were referred directly for screening colonoscopy. Patients were excluded if experiencing melena or hematochezia or had a personal history of colon polyps or CRC. Results: Of the 638 screening colonoscopies performed, 59.4% were in FIT-positive subjects and 40.6% were in subjects with a family history of CRC. Patients were predominantly female (72.9%), aged 50-65 years (84.2%), Hispanic (97.9%), and born in Mexico (92.4%). Overall, the detection rate for polyps, adenomas, and advanced adenomas was 46.2%, 34.3%, and 11.1%, respectively. Fifteen patients had adenocarcinoma (2.4%). Compared with colonoscopies in patients with a family his-tory, FIT-positive patients demonstrated a higher prevalence of polyps (PR 1.39, 95% CI 1.09-1.78), adenomas (PR 1.55, 95% CI 1.15-2.07), advanced adenomas (PR 3.04, 95% CI 1.67-5.56). Conclusions: This community-based CRC screening program in an enriched cohort of predominantly Mexican Americans was effective in identifying colorectal neoplasia and cancer. Additionally, there was an increased prevalence of colorectal neo-plasia in average-risk, FIT-positive patients undergoing screening colonoscopy compared with above average-risk patients with a of CRC. Similar would benefit at-risk