Wide variability in colorectal cancer screening uptake by general practitioner: Cross-sectional study

Despite several interventions, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening uptake remains below acceptable levels in Italy. Among the potential determinants of screening uptake, only a few studies analysed the role of general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to evaluate the variation in screening uptake of the clusters of subjects assisted by single GPs.

Ancona province, Central Italy.

Cross-sectional study, including all residents aged 50-69 years, who were offered the public screening programme with biannual faecal immunochemical tests. Demographic (of all GPs) and screening data (of all eligible residents) for years 2018-2019 were collected from the official electronic datasets of the Ancona Local Health Unit. The potential predictors of acceptable screening uptake, including GP's gender, age, and number of registered subjects, were evaluated using random-effect logistic regression, with geographical area as the cluster unit.

The final sample consisted of 332 GP clusters, including 120,178 eligible subjects. The overall province uptake was 38.0% ± 10.7%. The uptake was lower than 30% in one-fifth of the GP clusters, and higher than 45% in another fifth. At multivariable analysis, the significant predictors of uptake were younger GP age (p = 0.010) and lower number of registered subjects (p < 0.001). None of the GP clusters with 500 subjects or more showed an uptake ≥45%.

The wide variation across GPs suggests they might substantially influence screening uptake, highlighting a potential need to increase their commitment to CRC screening. Further research is needed to confirm the role of the number of registered subjects.