Future Prospects of Colorectal Cancer Screening: Characterizing Interval Cancers

Simple Summary The number of interval colorectal cancers is an intermediate measure of the effectiveness of a population-screening programme in decreasing colorectal cancer mortality. Differences between interval and screen-detected cancers have been reported. Better characterization of colorectal cancer to differentiate false-negative faecal immunochemical test results from true interval cancers would help determine whether to focus more on the organizational aspects of a screening programme or on stratifying colorectal cancer risk. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the epidemiological, clinical, and molecular characteristics of interval colorectal cancers. Tumors that are not detected by screening tests are known as interval cancers and are diagnosed clinically after a negative result in the screening episode but before the next screening invitation. Clinical characteristics associated with interval colorectal cancers have been studied, but few molecular data are available that describe interval colorectal cancers. A better understanding of the clinical and biological characteristics associated with interval colorectal cancer may provide new insights into how to prevent this disease more effectively. This review aimed to summarize the current literature concerning interval colorectal cancer and its epidemiological, clinical, and molecular features.