The Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, comprised of the Ministry of Health and the regional health departments, approved on Wednesday the expansion of colorectal cancer screening to include those up to 74 years of age. This early detection program for these tumors was previously aimed at the 50-69 age group. However, the Catalan Minister of Health, Olga Pané, announced on Friday that the rollout of this new plan will be gradual and contingent upon the availability of specialized professionals to perform the tests. The minister did not specify a possible timeline for the expansion. "It's not a budgetary issue, but rather ensuring there are enough professionals to perform endoscopies, to carry out the necessary colonoscopies, so that there are no delays and so that other important aspects, such as acute problems or already diagnosed cancers, are not overlooked," Minister Pané stated to the media.

Catalans between the ages of 50 and 69 always receive a letter at home or an SMS encouraging them to participate in colorectal cancer screening. The goal of this strategy is to detect the disease early. Although it has been proven that patient survival increases when treatment for this cancer begins in its earliest stages, less than half of those called in Catalonia participate in this program. Specifically, they are offered the option of undergoing a fecal occult blood test, a technique that is just as effective and much less invasive than colonoscopy in identifying cancer and reducing mortality. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by researchers from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona-Idibaps and the University Hospital of the Canary Islands, published in the journal The Lancet this Friday.