UC Davis doctors use multimedia to increase colorectal cancer screening among...(cussions about cancer are initiated and ...),Health

"One of the major differences in this software program is that it is offered right in the patients' own doctors' offices when they are already thinking about health and have time to talk with their physicians," said Jerant. "This makes it even more likely that they will use the information to ask about screening and discuss recommendations."

Data from the study, to be launched this month, will be collected over the course of four-and-a-half years. Information from Hispanic patients will be compared to information from non-Hispanic white patients to determine if the software helps improve participation in screening overall and, specifically, if it helps reduce or eliminate disparities in screening between these groups. If shown to be effective, the software could eventually be made available to physician offices nationwide.

Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 108,070 new cases of colon cancer and 40,740 new cases of rectal cancer will be diagnosed in 2008. Screening can reduce those numbers by identifying increased cancer risks and, in the case of colonoscopy, actually removing polyps before they become cancerous. Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanics to report receiving screening tests for colorectal cancer, making it a critical priority to develop and evaluate interventions that reduce or even eliminate this disparity.

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