Kaiser Permanente study shows screening efforts cut colorectal cancer deaths in half

A new Kaiser Permanente study showed how an integrated colorectal cancer screening program cut cancer deaths in half, reduced incidence by nearly a third, and erased racial health disparities in screenings, incidence, and death rates.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., underscoring the need to raise awareness, screen proactively, and improve treatment. Findings from the study demonstrate how routine cancer screening with a test that can both prevent cancer and lead to earlier detection helps enhance quality of care.

The study of 1.1 million men and women aged 50 to 75 examined the outcomes of a Kaiser Permanente Northern California initiative begun in 2006 to increase colorectal cancer screening rates. This program’s outreach efforts included sending screening reminders and at-home fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) kits.

“Our study shows that consistent and comprehensive screening outreach to all eligible members, with no in-person visit required, can make an extraordinary difference in reducing colorectal cancer incidence and deaths and eliminating racial disparities,” said lead researcher Douglas Corley, MD, PhD, chief research officer for The Permanente Medical Group and a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

Early screening helps erase racial health disparities

The study showed a significant reduction of colorectal cancer deaths among Black patients, which decreased from 52 per 100,000 in 2009 to 23.5 in 2019. Deaths per 100,000 for Hispanic, white, and Asian patients decreased to 20 during the same time period.

These results spotlight the need to erase health disparities and remove barriers such as lack of awareness about screenings and checkups. From 2012 to 2016, death rates from colorectal cancer among Black people were nearly 40% higher than in whites and double that seen in Asians and Pacific Islanders, according to the American Cancer Society. Results from the Kaiser Permanente outreach program show that this gap can be closed.

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“It was incredibly gratifying to see the impact our systemic screening program had on all our patients,” said study co-author Theodore R. Levin, MD, a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research scientist and gastroenterologist with The Permanente Medical Group. “But it was especially important to see that with equal access we could eradicate differences in important outcomes.”

Emphasizing early detection drives care quality for patients

The Permanente Medicine commitment to proactive, preventive, and integrated care, supported by technology, makes this kind of proactive outreach easier. The electronic health record system automatically prompts care teams to schedule patients for health screenings. The convenience of at-home FIT kits and additional reminders for patients promote early detection.

Due to an increase in colorectal cancer among younger people, Permanente physicians have been leading collaborations to offer at-home FIT kits to 45-to-49-year-olds. Several Kaiser Permanente regions are already expanding outreach and mailing the kits to members within this population.

The Kaiser Permanente study will be presented at the 2025 Digestive Disease Week meeting on May 3.

Read the full story from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research here.

You can also watch Dr. Corley’s interview with AMA Update on the study’s remarkable results.

Related health equity podcast: Listen to a PermanenteDocs Chat to learn more about an innovative pregnancy care model that helps to reduce Black maternal morbidity.