Marian Bátovský
Despite the considerable progress of both conservative and surgical forms of treatment for advanced colorectal carcinomas, the mortality in Europe remains high. The countries with the highest incidence and mortality rates are the Czech Republic and Hungary while Greece and Romania are the countries with the lowest number of cases. The number of new colorectal cancers cases and the mortality rate can only be reduced through an intensive campaign of prevention and a population-related screening program. The epidemiology of colorectal cancer in the Slovak Republic is also unfavorable. The alarming high rate of incidence (50.6/100 000) stimulated the Slovak Ministry of Health and Slovak Gastroenterological Society for launching the National screening program of colorectal cancer. The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) became the standard procedure for an annual screening examination in asymptomatic population aged more than 50 years. Colonoscopy follows in the event of a positive FOBT result. In screening period 2002-2007, the FOBTs of 11 % out of a total of 60 942 participants yielded positive results and in 2797 patients who underwent colonoscopy, 201 colorectal carcinoma and 456 adenoma in size more than 10 mm were detected.