WEDNESDAY, June 3, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Mailed fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) can significantly increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening across racial and ethnic groups, according to a study published in the May/June issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Anisha P. Ganguly, M.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues compared the effects of a CRC intervention (mailed FIT for screening-eligible patients plus patient navigation for positive results) across race/ethnicity. The analysis included 3,734 patients at federally qualified health centers.
The researchers found the adjusted risk difference (RD) for CRC screening uptake between the intervention and usual-care arms was 18.3 percent. Adjusted RDs were 16.7 percent for Hispanic patients, 13.9 percent for non-Hispanic Black patients, and 20.7 percent for non-Hispanic White patients, which did not differ significantly.
"This analysis showed that mailed colorectal cancer screening tests have the power to improve screening rates for diverse populations," Ganguly said in a statement. "This is really important, because we want these innovations in screening to improve outcomes among the hardest to reach populations and move the needle on colorectal cancer disparities."
