Colorectal cancer is one of the few cancers that can be prevented, not just detected early. It usually develops slowly, over years, from a benign polyp that gives no symptoms at all. If that polyp is found and removed, the cancer never happens.
This is the logic behind the national prevention program “Prolamvano”, which offers free colorectal cancer screening to eligible adults in Greece. The program entered a new phase in September 2026, funded from the national budget through 2030.
Who is eligible
The colorectal part of the program covers men and women aged 50 to 69 who hold an AMKA, whether insured or uninsured.
It does not cover people who already fall into a higher-risk category and need a different approach. You are excluded if you have:
- A previous diagnosis of adenomatous polyps of the colon or rectum
- A previous diagnosis of colorectal cancer
- Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis)
- Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, or another hereditary bowel cancer syndrome
Being excluded from the program does not mean you need less screening. It usually means you need more, on a personalised schedule set by your gastroenterologist.
How you receive the test
Eligible citizens are identified from national registries and contacted by SMS. There is no need to visit a doctor first or ask for a prescription.
- If you have activated electronic prescribing, you receive an electronic referral
- If you have not, you go to a participating pharmacy with your AMKA
- You collect the test kit free of charge and perform it at home
The list of participating pharmacies is published on the program’s official site.
What the test actually measures
The kit is an immunochemical faecal occult blood test, usually called a FIT. It detects human haemoglobin in a stool sample, in other words, traces of blood that are not visible to the eye.
That distinction matters, and the Ministry of Health has stated it plainly: the self-test does not detect whether a person has cancer. It detects bleeding in the bowel, which is a reason to look further.
Polyps and early cancers tend to bleed intermittently and in tiny quantities. A FIT picks up that bleeding long before anyone would notice it. But so do haemorrhoids, an anal fissure, and inflammation. That is why a positive result leads to an examination, not to a diagnosis.
How accurate it is
In pooled data reviewed by the US Preventive Services Task Force, a quantitative immunochemical stool test detected around 74% of colorectal cancers present at the time of testing, with a specificity of about 94%. For advanced adenomas, the precancerous polyps that matter most, sensitivity was much lower, around 23%.
Two practical conclusions follow from those numbers.
First, a single test is not a one-off guarantee. FIT screening works because it is repeated. European guidance from the Commission’s colorectal cancer initiative recommends a FIT every two years for average-risk adults up to the age of 74.
Second, a negative result does not cancel symptoms. If you have rectal bleeding, a persistent change in bowel habit, unexplained weight loss or iron deficiency anaemia, you need to be examined regardless of what the test showed.
What happens if the result is positive
A positive result generates a referral for a free gastroenterologist appointment. If the assessment supports it, the gastroenterologist refers you for a diagnostic colonoscopy, which is also free, along with the bowel preparation laxative, removal of any polyps found, and biopsy.
An invalid or indeterminate result is treated in the same way as a positive one.
It is worth repeating what a positive result means statistically. In a screening population where cancer is rare and specificity is around 94%, most positive results are not cancer. Many are benign and treatable causes of bleeding. Some are polyps that can be removed during the same colonoscopy, which is the outcome the whole program is designed to produce.
Why the starting age is 50
The EU Council Recommendation of December 2022 sets the target population for colorectal screening at 50 to 74 years, with a quantitative FIT as the preferred test and colonoscopy as the follow-up. Greece’s program sits inside that framework.
The United States moved its starting age to 45 in 2021, in response to rising incidence in younger adults. European programs, including Greece’s, currently start at 50. That difference is a live debate, not a settled question, and it is one reason symptoms in younger adults should never be dismissed on the grounds of age alone.
Uptake so far
According to Ministry of Health figures reported in August 2026, more than one million colorectal self-tests have been distributed since the program began, leading to over 62,000 subsequent medical procedures.
The single biggest limitation of any screening program is not the accuracy of the test. It is the number of people who receive a kit and never use it.
When to see a doctor regardless
Contact a gastroenterologist, without waiting for an invitation or a test result, if you notice:
- Blood in the stool, or black, tarry stools
- A change in bowel habit lasting more than a few weeks
- Unexplained weight loss
- Persistent abdominal pain or a feeling of incomplete emptying
- Iron deficiency anaemia with no obvious cause
- A first-degree relative diagnosed with colorectal cancer or advanced polyps, particularly before the age of 60
Screening programs are designed for people without symptoms. If you have symptoms, you are no longer in that group, and the correct examination is a colonoscopy rather than a stool test.