Evaluation of the “Burgenland PREvention trial of colorectal cancer Disease with ImmunologiCal Testing” (B-PREDICT)—a population-based colorectal cancer screening program

The colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program B-PREDICT is a population based invited two stage screening project using a faecal immunochemical test (FIT) for initial screening followed by a colonoscopy for those with a positive FIT. B-PREDICT was compared with the opportunistic screening colonoscopy (OPP-COL), performed in course of the nationwide screening program. Within B-PREDICT all residents of the Austrian federal state Burgenland, aged between 40 and 80 are annually invited to FIT testing. All individuals who underwent initial colonoscopy in Burgenland between 01/2003 and 12/2014, were included in this study. Individuals from the FIT-triggered invited screening program B-PREDICT were compared with those from the non-FIT triggered OPP-COL. 15 133 individuals from B-PREDICT were compared to 10 045 individuals with OPP-COL. CRC detection rates were 1.34