The effectiveness of cancer prevention and treatment in UK - Essay Example

Despite many years of public health research initiatives, the incidence of colon cancer has not declined for over ten years in the UK. Nevertheless, the mortality rates for colon cancer have declined appreciably over the past half century; today, more than 50% of patients with colon cancer live for at least 10 years after diagnosis. Moreover, research studies have provided strong evidence that patients diagnosed at the earliest stages of disease have a greater than 90% chance of long-term survival.

These data indicate that public health measures directed at increasing the detection of colon cancer at earlier stages of disease would positively influence current mortality rates for this disease (Jepson et al, 2005). The rationale for developing a screening and prevention program for colon cancer in the UK involves the fact that this type of cancer is known to progress slowly and is curable in its earliest stages (du Toit, 2006). The presence of polyps in the colon is an important risk factor for the development of colon cancer.

The screening and diagnostic technologies currently available afford a practical and useful diagnostic screening tool for population screening on a large scale. The biology of this type of cancer lends itself to a population based screening approach as the source of malignancy is the slow transformation of the benign tumor to an aggressive transformed state over a period of years. Early detection by screening for the presence of polyps comprises a reasonable and rational approach to cancer prevention.

The Dukes diagnostic criteria for colon cancer staging and grading are used to identify the clinical course of disease as it progresses through designated stages (A-D). A is the earliest stage which is associated with a 93% cure rate; however, only 9% of patients are diagnosed at this stage, Conversely, approximately 25% of patients are detected at stage C, a significantly more advanced