Suomeksi

Screening programme overview

– In 2023, individuals aged 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70 were invited to screening. Each of the invitees received a self-sampling kit to their homes. The screening test is free for the eligible population, but the wellbeing services counties may charge a fee for follow-up investigations.

– The target population for the screening programme was 422 650, and addresses for 421 210 individuals (99.7%) were obtained from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency for invitations.

– 74.4% returned the sampling kit. 5.3% of the test-attenders has a positive test (over 25 micrograms of haemoglobin in a gram of stool).

– Those with positive test results were referred to a screening nurse for further evaluation. The primary follow-up examination colonoscopy was performed on 12,963 screening participants. Alternative CT colonographies were reported for 150 persons.

– In the 2023 screening programme 770 cancers ja 5,254 advanced adenomas were detected.

– In 2023, the target population extended to cover 70 year olds. This explains the rise in both absolute numbers and proportions of cancers and advanced adenomas found.

– The national colorectal cancer screening began in Finland in 2022. This was preceded by a pilot in 12 municipalities from 2019 to 2021. Additionally, from 2004 to 2016, screening was studied in a randomised trial using an older faecal occult blood test test.

Whole country

Screening process

2023

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Sex N N % N % N % N %
Men 206045 143621 69.7 9587 6.7 7596 79.2 581 7.6
Women 216605 170678 78.8 6914 4.1 5367 77.6 387 7.2
Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 78.6 968 7.5
Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of those who participated)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who participated)
Sex N N % N % N % N %
Men 206045 143621 69.7 9587 6.7 7596 5.3 581 0.4
Women 216605 170678 78.8 6914 4.1 5367 3.1 387 0.2
Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 4.1 968 0.3

2022

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Sex N N % N % N % N %
Men 172688 126333 73.2 8307 6.6 6578 79.2 532 8.1
Women 181487 147375 81.2 5713 3.9 4461 78.1 342 7.7
Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 78.7 874 7.9
Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of those who participated)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who participated)
Sex N N % N % N % N %
Men 172688 126333 73.2 8307 6.6 6578 5.2 532 0.4
Women 181487 147375 81.2 5713 3.9 4461 3.0 342 0.2
Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 4.0 874 0.3

Age groups

2023

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Age group Sex N N % N % N % N %
60 Men 36577 23063 63.1 1299 5.6 1040 80.1 60 5.8
60 Women 36940 27701 75.0 938 3.4 727 77.5 42 5.8
60 Total 73517 50764 69.1 2237 4.4 1767 79.0 102 5.8
62 Men 35391 23591 66.7 1411 6.0 1115 79.0 63 5.7
62 Women 36317 27813 76.6 1044 3.8 803 76.9 43 5.4
62 Total 71708 51404 71.7 2455 4.8 1918 78.1 106 5.5
64 Men 34320 23640 68.9 1554 6.6 1227 79.0 79 6.4
64 Women 35750 28200 78.9 1106 3.9 858 77.6 56 6.5
64 Total 70070 51840 74.0 2660 5.1 2085 78.4 135 6.5
66 Men 33977 24445 71.9 1660 6.8 1317 79.3 121 9.2
66 Women 35875 28851 80.4 1185 4.1 947 79.9 73 7.7
66 Total 69852 53296 76.3 2845 5.3 2264 79.6 194 8.6
68 Men 33661 24989 74.2 1812 7.3 1450 80.0 127 8.8
68 Women 36234 29447 81.3 1325 4.5 1034 78.0 82 7.9
68 Total 69895 54436 77.9 3137 5.8 2484 79.2 209 8.4
70 Men 32119 23893 74.4 1851 7.7 1447 78.2 131 9.1
70 Women 35489 28666 80.8 1316 4.6 998 75.8 91 9.1
70 Total 67608 52559 77.7 3167 6.0 2445 77.2 222 9.1
Total Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 78.6 968 7.5

2022

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Age group Sex N N % N % N % N %
60 Men 36233 24773 68.4 1422 5.7 1127 79.3 80 7.1
60 Women 36542 28572 78.2 968 3.4 758 78.3 46 6.1
60 Total 72775 53345 73.3 2390 4.5 1885 78.9 126 6.7
62 Men 35030 25039 71.5 1529 6.1 1217 79.6 83 6.8
62 Women 36331 29123 80.2 1057 3.6 833 78.8 59 7.1
62 Total 71361 54162 75.9 2586 4.8 2050 79.3 142 6.9
64 Men 33279 24592 73.9 1593 6.5 1241 77.9 104 8.4
64 Women 34782 28444 81.8 1106 3.9 868 78.5 67 7.7
64 Total 68061 53036 77.9 2699 5.1 2109 78.1 171 8.1
66 Men 34847 26447 75.9 1797 6.8 1436 79.9 125 8.7
66 Women 36920 30580 82.8 1261 4.1 995 78.9 76 7.6
66 Total 71767 57027 79.5 3058 5.4 2431 79.5 201 8.3
68 Men 33299 25482 76.5 1966 7.7 1557 79.2 140 9.0
68 Women 36912 30656 83.1 1321 4.3 1007 76.2 94 9.3
68 Total 70211 56138 80.0 3287 5.9 2564 78.0 234 9.1
Total Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 78.7 874 7.9

Positivity rate

2023

2022

Diagnoses

2023

Sex
Test positives
Did not participate in colonoscopy
No CRC, adenomas nor polyps
Adenoma/polyp, non-advanced
Adenoma/polyp, advanced
Cancer
Others
N N % N % N % N % N % N %
Men 9587 1997 20.8 1521 15.9 2026 21.1 3389 35.3 443 4.6 230 2.4
Women 6914 1547 22.4 1530 22.1 1454 21.0 1865 27.0 327 4.7 210 3.0

2022

Sex
Test positives
Did not participate in colonoscopy
No CRC, adenomas nor polyps
Adenoma/polyp, non-advanced
Adenoma/polyp, advanced
Cancer
Others
N N % N % N % N % N % N %
Men 8307 1730 20.8 1430 17.2 1843 22.2 2699 32.5 387 4.7 226 2.7
Women 5713 1254 21.9 1397 24.5 1196 20.9 1471 25.7 244 4.3 168 2.9

Population groups

Mother language

2023

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Mother language Sex N N % N % N % N %
Domestic Men 197669 139572 70.6 9340 6.7 7418 79.4 564 7.6
Domestic Women 207215 165152 79.7 6663 4.0 5209 78.2 378 7.3
Domestic Total 404884 304724 75.3 16003 5.3 12627 78.9 942 7.5
Other/missing Men 8376 4049 48.3 247 6.1 178 72.1 17 9.6
Other/missing Women 9390 5526 58.8 251 4.5 158 62.9 9 5.7
Other/missing Total 17766 9575 53.9 498 5.2 336 67.5 26 7.7
Total Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 78.6 968 7.5

2022

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Mother language Sex N N % N % N % N %
Domestic Men 165832 122834 74.1 8095 6.6 6438 79.5 523 8.1
Domestic Women 173299 142397 82.2 5552 3.9 4344 78.2 329 7.6
Domestic Total 339131 265231 78.2 13647 5.1 10782 79.0 852 7.9
Other/missing Men 6856 3499 51.0 212 6.1 140 66.0 9 6.4
Other/missing Women 8188 4978 60.8 161 3.2 117 72.7 13 11.1
Other/missing Total 15044 8477 56.3 373 4.4 257 68.9 22 8.6
Total Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 78.7 874 7.9

Level of education

2023

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Level of education Sex N N % N % N % N %
Primary education/unknown Men 41478 24658 59.4 2070 8.4 1589 76.8 130 8.2
Primary education/unknown Women 31366 21318 68.0 1157 5.4 867 74.9 66 7.6
Primary education/unknown Total 72844 45976 63.1 3227 7.0 2456 76.1 196 8.0
Intermediate/secondary Men 97575 67571 69.3 4734 7.0 3779 79.8 269 7.1
Intermediate/secondary Women 93884 73862 78.7 3147 4.3 2450 77.9 176 7.2
Intermediate/secondary Total 191459 141433 73.9 7881 5.6 6229 79.0 445 7.1
Tertiary/higher education Men 66992 51392 76.7 2783 5.4 2228 80.1 182 8.2
Tertiary/higher education Women 91355 75498 82.6 2610 3.5 2050 78.5 145 7.1
Tertiary/higher education Total 158347 126890 80.1 5393 4.3 4278 79.3 327 7.6
Total Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 78.6 968 7.5

2022

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Level of education Sex N N % N % N % N %
Primary education/unknown Men 34486 21656 62.8 1709 7.9 1293 75.7 114 8.8
Primary education/unknown Women 26056 18262 70.1 917 5.0 692 75.5 58 8.4
Primary education/unknown Total 60542 39918 65.9 2626 6.6 1985 75.6 172 8.7
Intermediate/secondary Men 82368 59988 72.8 4185 7.0 3310 79.1 270 8.2
Intermediate/secondary Women 79127 64344 81.3 2649 4.1 2064 77.9 167 8.1
Intermediate/secondary Total 161495 124332 77.0 6834 5.5 5374 78.6 437 8.1
Tertiary/higher education Men 55834 44689 80.0 2413 5.4 1975 81.8 148 7.5
Tertiary/higher education Women 76304 64769 84.9 2147 3.3 1705 79.4 117 6.9
Tertiary/higher education Total 132138 109458 82.8 4560 4.2 3680 80.7 265 7.2
Total Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 78.7 874 7.9

Collaboration areas

Screening process

2023

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Collaboration area N N % N % N % N %
Eastern Finland 72144 55729 77.2 2777 5.0 2234 80.4 144 6.4
Inland Finland 68571 51658 75.3 2639 5.1 2100 79.6 182 8.7
Northern Finland 58913 44574 75.7 2323 5.2 1860 80.1 109 5.9
Southern Finland 156073 112421 72.0 5998 5.3 4466 74.5 355 7.9
Western Finland 66949 49917 74.6 2764 5.5 2303 83.3 178 7.7
Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 78.6 968 7.5

2022

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Collaboration area N N % N % N % N %
Eastern Finland 60324 47934 79.5 2284 4.8 1875 82.1 135 7.2
Inland Finland 57319 44599 77.8 2313 5.2 1852 80.1 172 9.3
Northern Finland 49332 38645 78.3 1970 5.1 1568 79.6 116 7.4
Southern Finland 130943 99200 75.8 5122 5.2 3859 75.3 303 7.9
Western Finland 56257 43330 77.0 2331 5.4 1885 80.9 148 7.9
Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 78.7 874 7.9

Participation rate

2023

2022

Positivity rate

2023

2022

result_chain_year_wsc

Diagnoses

2023

Collaboration area
Test positives
Did not participate in colonoscopy
No CRC, adenomas nor polyps
Adenoma/polyp, non-advanced
Adenoma/polyp, advanced
Cancer
Others
N N % N % N % N % N % N %
Eastern Finland 2777 544 19.6 576 20.7 649 23.4 817 29.4 130 4.7 67 2.4
Inland Finland 2639 541 20.5 577 21.9 555 21.0 782 29.6 135 5.1 51 1.9
Northern Finland 2323 463 19.9 526 22.6 524 22.6 673 29.0 78 3.4 62 2.7
Southern Finland 5998 1532 25.5 890 14.8 1145 19.1 1977 33.0 305 5.1 166 2.8
Western Finland 2764 464 16.8 482 17.4 607 22.0 1005 36.4 122 4.4 94 3.4

2022

Collaboration area
Test positives
Did not participate in colonoscopy
No CRC, adenomas nor polyps
Adenoma/polyp, non-advanced
Adenoma/polyp, advanced
Cancer
Others
N N % N % N % N % N % N %
Eastern Finland 2284 410 18.0 489 21.4 531 23.2 667 29.2 119 5.2 70 3.1
Inland Finland 2313 462 20.0 535 23.1 546 23.6 614 26.5 98 4.2 60 2.6
Northern Finland 1970 402 20.4 467 23.7 448 22.7 530 26.9 69 3.5 55 2.8
Southern Finland 5122 1263 24.7 813 15.9 1006 19.6 1677 32.7 238 4.6 137 2.7
Western Finland 2331 447 19.2 523 22.4 508 21.8 682 29.3 107 4.6 72 3.1

Wellbeing services counties

Screening process

2023

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Wellbeing services county N N % N % N % N %
Central Finland 21788 16906 77.6 832 4.9 645 77.5 40 6.2
Central Ostrobothnia 5187 3796 73.2 203 5.3 165 81.3 7 4.2
Central Uusimaa 15025 11016 73.3 591 5.4 451 76.3 35 7.8
City of Helsinki 41047 28613 69.7 1452 5.1 994 68.5 47 4.7
East Uusimaa 7899 5704 72.2 292 5.1 240 82.2 22 9.2
Kainuu 7171 5540 77.3 308 5.6 243 78.9 21 8.6
Kanta-Häme 14767 11095 75.1 596 5.4 480 80.5 59 12.3
Kymenlaakso 14795 10288 69.5 616 6.0 452 73.4 38 8.4
Lapland 16630 12455 74.9 701 5.6 550 78.5 29 5.3
North Karelia 15442 11779 76.3 417 3.5 366 87.8 34 9.3
North Ostrobothnia 29925 22783 76.1 1111 4.9 902 81.2 52 5.8
North Savo 21822 16861 77.3 944 5.6 699 74.0 34 4.9
Ostrobothnia 12484 9464 75.8 473 5.0 371 78.4 31 8.4
Pirkanmaa 37894 28652 75.6 1427 5.0 1101 77.2 89 8.1
Päijät-Häme 17480 13312 76.2 739 5.6 546 73.9 55 10.1
Satakunta 18084 13500 74.7 824 6.1 685 83.1 50 7.3
South Karelia 11221 8354 74.4 474 5.7 397 83.8 27 6.8
South Ostrobothnia 15910 11911 74.9 616 5.2 519 84.3 34 6.6
South Savo 13092 10183 77.8 584 5.7 524 89.7 36 6.9
Southwest Finland 36381 26953 74.1 1467 5.4 1247 85.0 97 7.8
Vantaa and Kerava 17037 12197 71.6 677 5.6 495 73.1 46 9.3
West Uusimaa 31569 22937 72.7 1157 5.0 891 77.0 85 9.5
Total 422650 314299 74.4 16501 5.3 12963 78.6 968 7.5

2022

Invited
Participated
Tested positive (of those who participated)
Had a colonoscopy (of test positives)
Received surgical/neoadjuvant treatment (of those who had colonoscopy)
Wellbeing services county N N % N % N % N %
Central Finland 17979 14388 80.0 665 4.6 548 82.4 44 8.0
Central Ostrobothnia 4225 3219 76.2 158 4.9 137 86.7 17 12.4
Central Uusimaa 12475 9828 78.8 515 5.2 361 70.1 24 6.6
City of Helsinki 35104 25691 73.2 1282 5.0 933 72.8 58 6.2
East Uusimaa 6523 4936 75.7 266 5.4 206 77.4 18 8.7
Kainuu 6019 4780 79.4 269 5.6 210 78.1 13 6.2
Kanta-Häme 12157 9532 78.4 521 5.5 425 81.6 51 12.0
Kymenlaakso 12228 9029 73.8 540 6.0 412 76.3 22 5.3
Lapland 13972 10837 77.6 588 5.4 469 79.8 35 7.5
North Karelia 12737 9968 78.3 336 3.4 301 89.6 25 8.3
North Ostrobothnia 25116 19809 78.9 955 4.8 752 78.7 51 6.8
North Savo 18463 14520 78.6 807 5.6 605 75.0 43 7.1
Ostrobothnia 10335 8071 78.1 374 4.6 294 78.6 29 9.9
Pirkanmaa 31540 24528 77.8 1252 5.1 976 78.0 81 8.3
Päijät-Häme 14481 11501 79.4 564 4.9 451 80.0 38 8.4
Satakunta 15346 11627 75.8 660 5.7 565 85.6 42 7.4
South Karelia 9465 7456 78.8 419 5.6 325 77.6 32 9.8
South Ostrobothnia 13622 10539 77.4 540 5.1 451 83.5 40 8.9
South Savo 11145 9058 81.3 476 5.3 421 88.4 23 5.5
Southwest Finland 30576 23632 77.3 1297 5.5 1026 79.1 77 7.5
Vantaa and Kerava 14235 10698 75.2 545 5.1 408 74.9 35 8.6
West Uusimaa 26432 20061 75.9 991 4.9 763 77.0 76 10.0
Total 354175 273708 77.3 14020 5.1 11039 78.7 874 7.9

Participation rate

2023

2022

Positivity rate

2023

2022

Diagnoses

2023

Wellbeing services county
Test positives
Did not participate in colonoscopy
No CRC, adenomas nor polyps
Adenoma/polyp, non-advanced
Adenoma/polyp, advanced
Cancer
Others
N N % N % N % N % N % N %
Central Finland 832 187 22.5 238 28.6 184 22.1 186 22.4 28 3.4 13 1.6
Central Ostrobothnia 203 38 18.7 34 16.7 47 23.2 74 36.5 8 3.9 4 2.0
Central Uusimaa 591 140 23.7 120 20.3 132 22.3 157 26.6 33 5.6 9 1.5
City of Helsinki 1452 458 31.5 173 11.9 220 15.2 494 34.0 50 3.4 57 3.9
East Uusimaa 292 52 17.8 55 18.8 71 24.3 87 29.8 20 6.8 10 3.4
Kainuu 308 65 21.1 65 21.1 75 24.4 90 29.2 12 3.9 1 0.3
Kanta-Häme 596 116 19.5 110 18.5 120 20.1 191 32.0 42 7.0 17 2.9
Kymenlaakso 616 164 26.6 123 20.0 106 17.2 168 27.3 38 6.2 17 2.8
Lapland 701 151 21.5 147 21.0 156 22.3 204 29.1 28 4.0 15 2.1
North Karelia 417 52 12.5 96 23.0 100 24.0 125 30.0 27 6.5 18 4.3
North Ostrobothnia 1111 209 18.8 280 25.2 246 22.1 305 27.5 30 2.7 42 3.8
North Savo 944 245 26.0 134 14.2 197 20.9 321 34.0 33 3.5 15 1.6
Ostrobothnia 473 103 21.8 65 13.7 99 20.9 178 37.6 23 4.9 8 1.7
Pirkanmaa 1427 327 22.9 348 24.4 311 21.8 355 24.9 64 4.5 23 1.6
Päijät-Häme 739 193 26.1 87 11.8 146 19.8 280 37.9 41 5.5 5 0.7
Satakunta 824 139 16.9 231 28.0 184 22.3 218 26.5 38 4.6 16 1.9
South Karelia 474 77 16.2 87 18.4 107 22.6 160 33.8 25 5.3 18 3.8
South Ostrobothnia 616 98 15.9 119 19.3 124 20.1 236 38.3 29 4.7 11 1.8
South Savo 584 60 10.3 108 18.5 168 28.8 185 31.7 42 7.2 21 3.6
Southwest Finland 1467 222 15.1 186 12.7 324 22.1 609 41.5 61 4.2 70 4.8
Vantaa and Kerava 677 182 26.9 84 12.4 123 18.2 232 34.3 35 5.2 21 3.1
West Uusimaa 1157 266 23.0 161 13.9 240 20.7 399 34.5 63 5.4 29 2.5

2022

Wellbeing services county
Test positives
Did not participate in colonoscopy
No CRC, adenomas nor polyps
Adenoma/polyp, non-advanced
Adenoma/polyp, advanced
Cancer
Others
N N % N % N % N % N % N %
Central Finland 665 117 17.6 198 29.8 167 25.1 137 20.6 32 4.8 14 2.1
Central Ostrobothnia 158 21 13.3 41 25.9 33 20.9 53 33.5 5 3.2 5 3.2
Central Uusimaa 515 154 29.9 94 18.3 98 19.0 135 26.2 21 4.1 14 2.7
City of Helsinki 1282 349 27.2 169 13.2 217 16.9 453 35.3 52 4.1 42 3.3
East Uusimaa 266 60 22.6 55 20.7 55 20.7 71 26.7 15 5.6 10 3.8
Kainuu 269 59 21.9 64 23.8 59 21.9 77 28.6 7 2.6 3 1.1
Kanta-Häme 521 96 18.4 96 18.4 106 20.3 167 32.1 33 6.3 23 4.4
Kymenlaakso 540 128 23.7 109 20.2 113 20.9 145 26.9 24 4.4 21 3.9
Lapland 588 119 20.2 119 20.2 140 23.8 166 28.2 28 4.8 16 2.7
North Karelia 336 36 10.7 91 27.1 85 25.3 84 25.0 23 6.8 18 5.4
North Ostrobothnia 955 203 21.3 243 25.4 216 22.6 234 24.5 29 3.0 31 3.2
North Savo 807 202 25.0 115 14.3 157 19.5 288 35.7 33 4.1 12 1.5
Ostrobothnia 374 80 21.4 49 13.1 83 22.2 142 38.0 16 4.3 5 1.3
Pirkanmaa 1252 276 22.0 318 25.4 307 24.5 294 23.5 36 2.9 22 1.8
Päijät-Häme 564 113 20.0 84 14.9 120 21.3 212 37.6 29 5.1 12 2.1
Satakunta 660 95 14.4 251 38.0 141 21.4 127 19.2 29 4.4 19 2.9
South Karelia 419 94 22.4 79 18.9 75 17.9 143 34.1 21 5.0 7 1.7
South Ostrobothnia 540 90 16.7 121 22.4 133 24.6 153 28.3 29 5.4 15 2.8
South Savo 476 55 11.6 85 17.9 122 25.6 158 33.2 31 6.5 26 5.5
Southwest Finland 1297 272 21.0 223 17.2 284 21.9 413 31.8 62 4.8 48 3.7
Vantaa and Kerava 545 137 25.1 62 11.4 108 19.8 201 36.9 29 5.3 8 1.5
West Uusimaa 991 228 23.0 161 16.2 220 22.2 317 32.0 47 4.7 23 2.3

Delays in access to colonoscopy

2023

2022

Participation rate maps

Wellbeing services counties

Municipality

Details

Data

  • The data includes all of the persons in the 2022-23 target population, and their screening outcomes reported by May 5th 2025.
  • The data on diagnoses only includes data from the screening registry, cancer registry data nor data on diagnoses outside of the national screening program have not been linked to obtain these figures.

Indicator definitions

  • The participation rate was calculated by dividing the successful tests (at most one per person) with the number of persons who were invited.
  • Test positivity rate was calculated by dividing number of positives with the number of people who returned at least one test successfully.
  • Colonoscopy median delay is the number for which half of the population had to wait longer and half for shorter period of time before admission to colonoscopy. The first decile’s upper limit is the colonoscopy waiting time that 10% of the test positives remain under. Similarly, the 10th deciles lower limit is the colonoscopy waiting time that 10% of the test positives exceed.
  • The confidence intervals in positivity rates and attendance rates model the uncertainty related to size of the population and random variation. The intervals are calculated using exact binomial model and 95%–confidence.

Population classification

  • The statistics production uses Statistics Finland’s individual-level data on education under permit TK/2743/07.03.00/2023.
  • Education categories were created by combining the categories of pre-primary, lower primary, and upper primary education into the primary education category, combining secondary education and special vocational qualifications into the secondary education category, and combining lower and upper tertiary education and doctoral education into the tertiary education category. Unknown and missing data were combined with the primary education category. The education data is from the year preceding the screening year (2021).
  • Native language is based on data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Diagnosis classification

  • Diagnoses are classified by screening round, according to person’s most severe diagnosis during a screening round.
  • No CRC, adenomas or polyps covers all the screening rounds where neither diagnosis with ICD-O-3 classification code beginning with M8 nor SNOMED codes for polyps (M7200/0, M7204/0, M7564/0 tai M7680/0) were reported.
  • Adenomas and polyps include all of the sessile lesions and hyperplastic polyps, including all of the ICD-O-3codes starting with M8 until ones starting M85, and also SNOMED-codes M7200/0, M7204/0, M7564/0 tai M7680/0.
  • Advanced adenomas includes all of the adenomas with high grade dysplasia, over 10 mm of size in any direction or if a person was detected with more than four polyps.
  • Cancers include all of the ICD-O-3 diagnoses that end with diagnosis code 3. This includes also more rare tumors (f.ex. sarcomas).
  • Others include all of the cases where there was a report of, for example a polyp, but the report does not contain more detailed information on the size and/or histology of the polyp is missing. The category also covers some rare non-malign tumors (such as lipomas).