An electronic copy of the thesis may be ordered from the faculty up to 2 days prior to the public defence. Inquiries regarding the thesis after the public defence must be addressed to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor and Executive Director Jason A. Dominitz, University of Washington, Veterans Health Administration
- Second opponent: Professor Fang Fang, Karolinska Instiutet
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Sheraz Yaqub, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Marte Lie Høivik, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Associate professor Magnus Løberg, University of Oslo
Summary
Colorectal cancer is a major health burden worldwide. Screening for colorectal cancers and surveillance programmes after adenoma removal have been implemented in many countries to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. This thesis aims to investigate the effect of colorectal cancer screening and adenoma removal on colorectal cancer incidence and mortality, as well as the risk of colorectal cancer death from an interval cancer occurring between two screening episodes.
The thesis includes a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing randomised controlled trials on colorectal cancer screening, a subanalysis of a randomised controlled trial on colorectal cancer screening (the NORCCAP study), as well as a cohort study of 40,000 Norwegian individuals 40 years or older who have had an adenoma removed.
Colorectal cancer screening with guaiac faecal occult blood test and sigmoidoscopy had a long-lasting effect on colorectal cancer mortality of at least 15 years. Individuals who experienced an interval cancer after a negative screening exam had similar prognosis to clinically detected cancers. Both sigmoidoscopy screening and adenoma removal had less effect in women than in men, thus sex-specific guidelines should be considered.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.