Shifting the paradigm: Early identification of colorectal cancer with C the Signs clinical decision support.

Abstract

54 Background: The incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing rapidly, particularly amongst younger people. Despite a screening program being widely available, most patients are diagnosed with cancer through symptomatic presentation. Leveraging electronic medical records (EMRs) through clinical decision support platforms offers potential for identifying high-risk individuals before clinical suspicion develops. This study aims to explore the challenges associated with early colorectal cancer diagnosis and evaluate the effectiveness of the cancer case finding feature of a cancer management platform called C the Signs. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from the Mayo Data Platform, comprising records of 894,275 patients, including 7,348 diagnosed with colorectal cancer. C the Signs was employed to identify patients at risk of colorectal cancer based on EMR data. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed to assess the platform's performance in identifying high-risk patients. Additionally, the study evaluated the temporal discrepancy in colorectal cancer diagnoses between those flagged by C the Signs and those detected by primary care physicians. Results: The C the Signs screening platform had a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 19.7% in identifying patients at risk of colorectal cancer. Notably, 29.4% of patients with colorectal cancer were identified as being at risk up to 5 years earlier by C the Signs compared to diagnoses made by primary care physicians, highlighting the platform's potential for early detection. Conclusions: Early identification of high-risk individuals holds promise for improving patient outcomes and reducing the burden of colorectal cancer. Whilst the specificity of the C the Signs platform for colorectal cancer is relatively low, the sensitivity is comparable to the most favorable rates reported for colonoscopy. In addition, if C the Signs was used in conjunction with a relatively cheap screening test such as Faecal Immunochemical Testing, this would significantly drive up the specificity whilst maintaining the sensitivity. Further studies are needed to assess its efficacy in conjunction with tests available in primary care.