Patient attitudes and issues in colon cancer screening

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and is largely preventable by CRC screening (CRCS). Participation in CRCS, however, is much lower than participation in other forms of preventive care. Many reasons for low rates of participation have been identified, and can be generally divided into provider- and patient-specific issues. Lack of a provider recommendation is a well-established and widely reported patient barrier to CRCS. Numerous patient-specific issues have been identified, ranging from fear of CRCS test results to lack of knowledge about individual risk for CRC and inadequate resources to complete CRCS. This article discusses the impact of patient attitudes and issues toward CRCS, with particular attention to modifiable psychosocial factors, the importance of patient preferences for one CRCS test over another, knowledge of CRC risk, and the impact of educational tools on patient compliance with CRCS.