eP124 - Back to Basics: Population Insights on Colorectal Cancer and Its Screening

Purpose/Background: Colorectal cancer is now the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States. In the past 25 years, there has been an uptrend in the incidence of colorectal cancer worldwide including in Latin America; Countries like Colombia and Costa Rica have reported uptrends in their incidence. However, little-to-no studies have been published about colorectal cancer in the Dominican Republic. There is a need to comprehend the current state of colorectal cancer in this country. Starting with the population, we interviewed them regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and practices about colon cancer screening in the Dominican Republic.Methods/Interventions: Cross-sectional study where we interviewed patients who visited different clinics in CEDIMAT Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Base variables included age brackets, gender, and education level. Knowledge questions about colorectal cancer including presentation, risk factors, attitudes towards screening, and patient’s practices towards screening colonoscopy; lastly their source of information. Data analysis included frequency tables. Data analysis was done with SPSS statistics 29.0 for MAC OS-Ventura. The sample size was calculated using the single proportion formula, with a confidence level of 98%, a margin of error of 5%, and an estimated prevalence of 50%. The minimum sample size was 543 participants.Results/Outcomes: 592 participants were interviewed, 59.1% were female, and 40.6% of the patients were over 45 years of age. 66% of the patients had a college degree and 78% of the participants were employed. 8 out of 10 participants have heard about tests to detect colorectal cancer. 31.6% of patients didn’t know if “colon cancer was preventable”. 20% of them didn’t know if “colon cancer is fatal.” Detection

Methods: 80.7% of participants knew about colonoscopy, and 28.9% knew about fecal occult blood tests.Risk factors: as shown in table 1.Cancer symptoms: 60% of the participants reported blood in the stool and 37.7% reported unintentional weight loss. 27.4% reported a change in bowel habits as a possible symptom. Screening: 19.4% reported having undergone screening colonoscopy. 62% of the participants stated that they would experience a screening test for colorectal cancer, and 90% of the participants considered early detection "very important. "The factors that would encourage the participants were family history of cancer (43.1%), symptoms (43%), Doctor’s recommendation (59.3%), and benefits of early detection (41.2%).Factors that would discourage them from undergoing screening: fear of results (41%), discomfort associated with the test (32.8%), cost (31.8%), lack of time (38%), and lack of access (20.3%).Source of information: 37.8% reported social media as their source of information, 29.6% reported TV.Conclusion/

Discussion: Overall, there is a marked lack of education in the population regarding colon cancer. Although 40% of the population is of age for screening colonoscopy only ~20% of the participants reported had undergone one. Education focus should be on risk factors and to improve awareness regarding the benefits of screening and early identification. Efforts should be made to spread information on appropriate channels such as social media and encourage physicians to routinely advise about colorectal cancer screening to their patients.Table 1. Risk factorsRisk factors for colorectal cancer reported by the population