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Previous Volume 338:1151-1155 April 16, 1998 Number 16 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Following the recommendations of various expert panels and professional organizations, the Medicare program in the United States has agreed to pay for annual fecal occult-blood tests for all patients. But is population screening by fecal occult-blood testing premature? Simon and Fletcher present two points of view.

Recent controlled clinical trials have demonstrated that periodic fecal occult-blood testing can reduce deaths from colorectal cancer.^1,2,3 As a result, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American Cancer Society, and several other professional organizations all recommend annual testing of the general population beginning at the age of 50. Public attention is mounting, and . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Address reprint requests to Dr. Fletcher at the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, 126 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215.

Related Letters:

Role of Fecal Occult-Blood Testing
Bond J. H., Mandel J. S., Church T. R., Simon J. B.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1998; 339:774-775, Sep 10, 1998. Correspondence

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