Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most dangerous and lethal cancers that starts in the colon or the rectum. It can also be called colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on the cancer origin (American Cancer Society, 2023, www.cancer.org). According to the statistics of the Gharbia Cancer Registry in Egypt, colon cancer accounts for 3.0% of all cancers detected in Egypt – 3.4% and 2.6% for male and female respectively. It ranks eighth in the most common cancer among males and eleventh among females. Additionally, the average age at diagnosis was 51.9 years and 56.5 years for males and females respectively.
Egypt’s presidential health initiatives has involved screening programs as an essential part of early diagnosis and treatment. In last summer, the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement has floated a tender for screening of four different types of cancer: lung, prostate, cervical and colon cancers.
In the meantime, Sysmex Egypt has been awarded 100% workload of CRC screening using faecal immunochemical test (FIT). It’s a national program that is planned to run for three consecutive years. During the first year, citizens who are ≥ 50 years old will be screened as a first-priority, and in later stages, the screening program will cover ages between 40–50 years and eventually the younger age groups. The program is designated to screen 12 million citizens and identify the prospective patients for endoscopic confirmation. Based on a questionnaire containing 64 questions, the citizens will be classified and directed to the right place for screening.
Sysmex Egypt takes the responsibility not only to supply the “main store” of Ministry of Health with sample collection kits, but also to collect sample tubes from 3500 healthcare units in rural areas and deliver them to 30 Central Hospitals over all Egyptian Governorates where 30 Sysmex instruments are installed.
On top of that, Sysmex Egypt will install 30 dedicated platforms for faecal immunochemical testing in the mentioned Central Hospitals – 27 medium-throughput SENTiFIT 270 analysers and three high-throughput SENTiFIT 800 analysers.
Currently, FIT is considered the best non-invasive faecal occult blood (FOB) test in which human haemoglobin is detected with high specificity by using antibodies. If the result is positive, this allows additional diagnostic measures like colonoscopy to be taken at an early stage, possibly preventing colorectal cancer. Sysmex provides an automated, quantitative FOB solution which has been specially designed for use with the dedicated stand-alone faecal analyser SENTiFIT 270. This creates a flexible solution for screening and symptomatic testing for every clinical laboratory or hospital.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population:
“The ministry will launch a presidential initiative during the next few weeks for the early detection of four cancerous tumours, namely colon, cervical, prostate and lung cancer. The initiative aims for early detection and treatment of the diagnosed patients, and most of the medical supplies necessary to launch the initiatives have been provided.”
About Sysmex Egypt
Sysmex supports healthcare professionals around the world in lighting the way with diagnostics by providing a broad range of medical diagnostics products and solutions. In the fields of haematology, urinalysis, haemostasis, life science, flow cytometry, essential healthcare and now immunochemistry, we combine highly dependable, multi-functional and easy-to-operate instruments, a variety of reagents and software, plus reliable service and support.
In 2018, Sysmex Egypt LLC was established as a subsidiary of Sysmex Corporation. Located in New Cairo city, Sysmex Egypt established a well-designed office with attached training centre that serves many countries in addition to the Egyptian market, aiming to transfer the knowledge and help in developing our market with latest technologies and updates.
About Sysmex Europe SE
Sysmex supports healthcare professionals around the world in lighting the way with diagnostics by providing a broad range of medical diagnostics products and solutions. In the fields of haematology, urinalysis, haemostasis, life science, flow cytometry, essential healthcare and now immunochemistry, we combine highly dependable, multi-functional and easy-to-operate instruments, a variety of reagents and software, plus reliable service and support.
Sysmex Europe SE, located near Hamburg, Germany, is a subsidiary of the Sysmex Corporation from Kobe, Japan. From our Hamburg offices, we serve our affiliates, distributors and customers throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). For more information, visit www.sysmex-europe.com.
SENTiFIT® and FOB GOLD® are trademarks in various jurisdictions, which are exclusively licensed to Sentinel CH. SpA. http://www.sentineldiagnostics.com.