Table 1.

Definitions of screening status subgroups.

Subgroup	Definition
Screen-detected CRC	CRC diagnosed after a FIT+ result, within six months after the first follow-up colonoscopy and before the next recommended FIT invitation (24 months).
FIT-interval cancer	CRC diagnosed after a negative FIT result and before the next recommended FIT invitation (24 months).
Post-colonoscopy CRC after a FIT+	CRC diagnosed after a FIT+ result but later than six months after the first follow-up colonoscopy and before the next recommended colonoscopy examination (10 years, 4 years and 2 years for a complete, virtual and incomplete colonoscopy, respectively).
CRC in FIT non-participant	CRC diagnosed but no FIT participation recorded after screening invitation.
CRC in never-invited *	CRC occurred before the start of the screening programme. CRC occurred after the start of the screening programme but in individuals whose ages were not yet included in the target screening ages at the time (e.g., age 50 during 2013–2019).

CRC, colorectal cancer; FIT, faecal immunochemical test. * CRC cases that were diagnosed during an individual’s period of exclusion from CRC screening (a CRC diagnosis ≤ 10 years, an opportunistic FOBT ≤ 2 years, a full colonoscopy ≤ 10 years or a virtual colonoscopy ≤ 4 years) were excluded from our analysis of relative survival.