Effects of Colon Cancer Risk Counseling for First-Degree Relatives
- 1Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; 2Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii; and 3Department of Psychology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia
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Karen Glanz, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road Northeast, Room 526, Atlanta, GA 30322. Phone: 404-727-7536; Fax: 404-727-1369. E-mail: kglanz{at}sph.emory.edu
Abstract
Background: Individuals with a first-degree relative who has had colorectal cancer are at increased risk for colorectal cancer and thus can benefit from early detection. Tailored risk counseling may increase adherence to screening guidelines in these persons. The present study evaluated a culturally sensitive Colon Cancer Risk Counseling (CCRC) intervention for relatives of colorectal cancer patients.
Methods: A randomized trial evaluated personalized CCRC sessions with print materials and follow-up phone calls compared with a comparable General Health Counseling (GHC) intervention. One hundred and seventy-six siblings and children of colorectal cancer patients, living in Hawaii, were assessed at baseline and 4 and 12 months after intervention. Physician verification of colorectal cancer screening reports supplemented survey data.
Results: The CCRC intervention had a significant treatment effect at 4 months (13% greater increase than for GHC) that plateaued to a trend at 12 months. For those who were nonadherent at baseline, the CCRC led to a 17% net increase in screening adherence. Participants rated the CCRC intervention better than GHC for the amount and usefulness of new information.
Conclusions: Using a study design that compared risk counseling to an attention-matched and tailored control condition provided a rigorous test of CCRC that emphasized the relevance of family experience with colorectal cancer. The combination face-to-face, phone, and small media risk counseling intervention for people with a family history of colorectal cancer should be considered for adoption in health care and public health settings. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(7):1485–91)
Footnotes
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↵4 A.C. Marcus, personal communication.
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Grant support: National Human Genome Research Institute grant R01 HG 01241.
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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Note: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health (Kapiolani Hospital and Straub Medical Center), Kuakini Medical Center, Queen's Medical Center, and St. Francis Medical Center (Honolulu). The findings and conclusions of this study do not necessarily represent the views of these hospitals and/or their facilities or subsidiaries.
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- Accepted May 7, 2007.
- Received October 31, 2006.
- Revision received April 26, 2007.
