AAPA, PA Foundation leading efforts to improve colorectal cancer screening rates

/EIN News/ -- ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) is proud to lead an effort aimed at improving screening rates for colorectal cancer, which is the third deadliest form of cancer for men and fourth deadliest for women.

The work is part of a project being funded through a grant from Exact Sciences, an organization whose mission is to eradicate cancer by preventing it, detecting it earlier, and creating more tailored treatments. In January and February, AAPA and the Physician Associate Foundation (PAF) led focus groups with representatives of select Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the country who had previously undertaken efforts of their own to improve colorectal cancer screening rates. FQHCs were selected because they tend to serve lower income patients who may face more barriers to screenings.

Those focus groups yielded key takeaways and lessons, which now are being applied to create learning modules that will be tested at pilot sites in the fall. These modules aim to modify workflow at clinics to free up provider time and resources to improve colorectal cancer screening rates and provide useful education material to key patient populations.

Research has shown clear disparities in ethnic groups when compared to white patients in terms of both severity of disease at the time of diagnosis and survival rates.

For Hispanic and Latino patients in the U.S., colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death. This can be partially attributed to the sharp rise in the number of cases impacting Hispanic and Latino patients younger than 50 who typically wouldn’t qualify for screenings under current guidelines. The National Cancer Institute said Hispanic and Latino patients with early-onset tumor incidents have risen faster than any other racial or ethnic group.

PAF President Jeffrey Katz, PA-C, DFAAPA, who spent three decades as a family medicine PA in North Carolina, said physician associates/assistants (PAs) are often one of the first providers a patient may see and thus are in a unique position to ensure these life-saving screenings are completed.

“Patients view PAs as trusted healthcare providers,” Katz said. “It is important that we take the time to discuss the importance of screenings and preventative care. Through this project, we hope to address barriers in care so that all patients can receive this potential life-saving screening.”

March marks Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. AAPA Chief Medical Officer Jennifer M. Orozco-Kolb, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, said it also serves as the perfect time for providers to speak to patients about colorectal cancer screenings.

“Like most cancers, early detection is so critical when dealing with colorectal cancer,” Orozco-Kolb said. “If caught in the early stages, the 5-year survival rate is 91%. But if caught in later stages, that number drops to almost 14%. If we can use this project and this month to raise awareness and improve screening rates, we can save lives.”

In the U.S., more than 152,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year alone. Through this project, AAPA and the PAF hope to be part of the change that can diagnose these cases earlier and improve survival rates across the board.

Contact:
Josh Birch, 443.614.5896
jbirch@aapa.org