Bowel cancer screening set to save thousands of lives

Bowel cancer screening is predicted to save over two and a half thousand lives every year in the UK by 2025, according to new research published in the Journal of Medical Screening today.

The Cancer Research UK funded study, which looked at the impact home testing kits could have on mortality rates, showed that deaths from bowel cancer are set to drop by around 16 per cent.

By 2025, the numbers of lives that are expected to be saved in the UK each year is between 2200 and 2700.

The faecal occult blood testing kit tests for traces of blood in peoples’ stools, which can be an early sign of bowel cancer. Detecting the early signs of the disease significantly increases the chance of survival – four out of five people diagnosed at an early stage recover.

The researchers used a computer simulation model – based on mortality and incidence rates between 1975 and 2004 and the number of people that attended screening in early trials – to see the impact that the screening programme would have over the next 20 years.

Study author Dr Max Parkin, Cancer Research UK epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, said: “The results of our study show the large number of lives that could be saved by the national bowel cancer screening programme in the next 20 years. Cancer of the bowel is a major problem in the UK for both men and women – it is the second most common cause of cancer death. Screening every two years for people aged between 60 and 74 years old is absolutely crucial in order to reduce the number of people dying from bowel cancer.

“In this study we’re assuming that between 60 and 80 per cent of people will take up the opportunity to be screened. But, if we can encourage more people to take part then we would hope to save even more lives.”

Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “The screening programme, which started in 2007, aims to detect bowel cancer at an early stage. If it is caught early then treatment is likely to be simpler and much more effective.

“This report highlights how successful screening could be but, worryingly, there are still a large number of people not using the testing kits. This type of screening is non-invasive and anonymous – it’s just a case of doing the test at home and sending a sample off for analysis. It’s so simple yet could save your life. Forgetting to do it or feeling too embarrassed could have serious consequences. We urge everyone who is sent the kit in the post to take part so that more lives can be saved.”