[A decade of experience in rescreening for colonic cancer in a working population]

The authors carried out a screening on a population of metallurgical and mechanical workers, repeated five times in ten years, in order to have early diagnosis of colon-rectum's neoplasia by means of Hemoccult test. They used the GOICC's (Gruppo Operativo Italiano Cancro del Colon) methodology and took under consideration 726 workers (442 men and 264 women between 40 and 60 years old), on the whole 1094 tests. They had considered the repetition frequency of a test in any single worker in relation with sex and age. Considering this group of people they realized that a greater sensibilization could be referred to people under 50, male (the latest data is statistically significant). The compliance increased due to a greater sensibilization and aggregation of a group that can be considered "homogeneous". On the basis of these results, the usefulness of this kind of preventive test is suggested.