Personalized risk messages fail to boost colorectal cancer screening participation in trial

A randomized controlled trial aimed to determine whether providing information on patient risk for advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN) to patients and providers affects colorectal cancer (CRC) screening uptake.

The study found no differences in CRC screening uptake for both the personalized provider and patient messages. The findings add to current knowledge around risk messages and CRC screening and require confirmation and extension in subsequent studies, with the potential to improve the uptake, effectiveness, and efficiency of CRC screening. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from Indiana University studied data from 214 providers and 1,084 average risk patients across primary care clinics in two health care systems in the Midwest between November 2020 through May 2023.

Eligible patients were aged 50 to 75 years, scheduled to see an enrolled provider within a month, and due for CRC screening. Patients were sent a decision aid about CRC screening that included a personalized message about ACN risk (personalized decision aid) or did not (generic decision aid).

Providers were also sent a notification that the patient was due for screening that included a personalized message about the patient’s ACN risk (personalized notification) or did not (generic notification).

The primary outcome was completion of any screening test within six months of enrollment, and secondary outcomes were completion of each specific screening test (colonoscopy, stool test, and other approved screening tests) within six months.

The researchers found that 39.8% of participants completed CRC screening; however, there were no significant effects of the personalized decision aid or the personalized provider notification on uptake of CRC screening.