Screening for over-55s could slash bowel cancer deaths

Everybody in England aged 55 to 64 will be invited for a new test which could dramatically cut their chances of developing bowel cancer.

The new test could save an extra 3,000 lives every year after the UK National Screening Committee gave the go-ahead for it to be added to the NHS programme.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) differs to the current faecal occult blood (FOB) test, which relies on people sending off stool samples.

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With the new technology, a thin, bendy tube is inserted a short way into the rectum and lower bowel, enabling a doctor to look at the wall of the bowel.

He or she can then remove any small growths known as polyps, which have the potential to develop into bowel cancer. By removing these at an early stage, many more lives could be saved before the disease gets a chance to take hold.

Data shows that one-off FS screening for bowel cancer in men and women aged 55 to 64 could reduce the incidence of bowel cancer by 33 per cent and death rates by 43 per cent.

Across the UK, around 40,000 people develop bowel cancer each year and over 16,000 die from it.

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It is unclear exactly how long it will take for the NHS to roll out the new screening programme. Currently, people aged 60 to 69 are invited to send off stool samples as part of the FOB programme, which is being extended to include people up to the age of 74.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: “We will pilot inviting men and women aged around 55 for FS. They will then be invited to complete FOB kits every two years from age 60, as is currently available.”

Harpal Kumar of Cancer Research UK said: “Recent trial results of this method of detecting and removing polyps before they develop into bowel cancer can truly be called a breakthrough.

“Because it will prevent so many cancers, adding this test to the bowel screening programme will spare tens of thousands of families the anxiety and suffering associated with a cancer diagnosis, while also saving the NHS money.”

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Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said: “Bowel cancer is one of the biggest killers in England. That is why we are investing £60m over the next four years to fund flexible sigmoidoscopy and why we recently launched a campaign to make people more aware of the early signs of cancer.

“We hope that these measures will help us achieve our goal of having cancer outcomes among the best in the world.”