Report on the Belgian consensus meeting on colorectal cancer screening

Screening and prevention of colorectal cancer must be a public health priority. It is the most frequent malignancy in Europe, the second leading cause of cancer death, including Belgium where more than 6000 new cases occur per year. Various screening modalities, from non invasive to invasive are available and currently in use and they are all cost-effective in comparison with no screening. The decision as to which screening test to use should be made by the patient and clinician. Consensus documents prepared by the Belgian scientific community appear in this issue of Acta Gastroenterologica Belgica, summarizing the scientific evidence in favour as well as the limitations of fecal occult blood tests, flexible sigmoidoscopy, videocolonoscopy and virtual colonoscopy.