On February 5, the Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid detected “an incident” in the communication by letter of the results of the colon and rectal cancer screening program (Prevecolon), which affected approximately 500 people. In a statement, Health underlines that “there was no diagnostic error” in the results of tests on patients (detection of occult blood in the stool) and that “the correct results” were always recorded in the patients’ medical records.
According to the Ministry of Health, the incident occurred in the communication of the results via letter that approximately 500 patients received. La Sexta television network reported yesterday that last February some 571 Madrid residents received erroneous colon cancer screening letters reporting false negatives to patients who may have the disease and need further testing, and also to those who have not yet had one. A network program interviewed an affected woman.
In response to this information, the Ministry assures that from the moment the company in charge of sending the letters notified the incident (on February 5), each of these patients was contacted by telephone, by SMS or through primary care healthcare professionals. The situation was resolved between February 5 and 12, a week after the notification and “all patients who received the letter were informed of the incident”.
“No clinical process has been modified”, nor has there been any alteration in the execution of the necessary complementary tests, the Ministry underlined. Thanks to the control and quality systems of the Madrid Health Service (Sermas), health workers contacted at least two hundred of these patients, informing them of the correct results recorded in their medical records before the company notified its error, Health specified.
The Community of Madrid reiterates its “absolute trust” in this program, with more than eight years of experience and which has carried out more than 350,000 tests in 2024 alone. He states that citizens can be assured of the reliability of this process.
Colon cancer is the cancer with the highest incidence among men and women in Spain. In 2024, 41,167 new cases were diagnosed, and while nine out of 10 people can survive the disease if diagnosed early, it has the second-highest mortality rate, after lung cancer. The offer is mandatory in all communities for the population between 50 and 69 years old, but its coverage can be improved with regards to raising awareness, facilitating access or issuing reminders. Participation is unequal: only Navarra and the Basque Country exceed 70%.
