Effectiveness of an Integrated Colorectal Cancer Screening in Saudi Arabia: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial

The global burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence among young age groups is rising and overwhelming. This new trend of young-onset CRC incidence is evident in western countries. Unfortunately, Asian countries have shown the same epidemic shift in the past few years. As a consequence, this situation might necessitate revisiting the current screening program in this region. Saudi Arabia has a two-fold increase in CRC incidence among young age groups in the last 18 years (9.6/100000 for male versus 9.3/100000 for female). This rising incidence ascribed to the lack of a screening program and suggested lowering CRC screening to 40. The low awareness about risk factors, signs, and symptoms of the disease causes late presentation of CRC cases. Therefore, most presenting cases are associated with a poor prognosis and short survival. Educational and screening programs are, by no means, considered valuable and essential as CRC tends to affect younger age groups.