[Colorectal cancer screening: situation and prospect].

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in China and the incidence has been increasing during the decades. It is reported to take decades for adenoma to transform to carcinoma, which is known as the main CRC pre-cancer lesion. It is important to carry out mass screening in the average risk populations to find the pre-cancer lesion and early cancer, which was the key approach to improve CRC survival. Fecal occult blood test and flexible sigmoidoscopy are the two CRC screening methods, which have been shown to reduce CRC mortality. It still needs to be confirmed in random clinical trials that the value of colonoscopy in CRC screening. In China, the most CRC screening experience was drawn from the works in Zhejiang province in 1970s. Consequently, the Chinese CRC treatment and guideline was founded to provide standard for the CRC screening project.