Bowel screening cuts cancer deaths

9th November 2011 - A bowel screening programme can reduce deaths by 27%, according to new research presented to a cancer conference. Researchers say the trial, funded by the Scottish Government Health Department, is the first to show the impact of the tests when routinely applied in the community.

The trial involved 379,655 people in their 50s and 60s from three of Scotland's 14 health boards. They were invited to take part in the pilot study between 2000 and 2007, prior to its introduction nationally.

Home testing kits

The screening programme for bowel cancer used the faecal occult blood test (FOBt) which is carried out by post. People use screening kits to take a series of small stool samples at home and mail them to a lab to be tested for traces of hidden blood, which could be an early sign of bowel cancer.

In the Scottish study, each person was matched with another of the same age and sex from one of the health boards not taking part in the trial. All the individuals were followed until the end of 2009 or until they died.

Reduction in death rates

The results showed that, among those invited for screening, there was a 10% cut in bowel cancer deaths compared with those not invited.

However, the researchers, based at the Bowel Screening Research Centre in Dundee, say this is an underestimate because 40% of those invited for screening did not actually take up the invitation. When they examined those who had actually completed the test, the reduction in bowel cancer deaths rose to 27%.

The findings were presented at the National Cancer Research Institute's Cancer Conference (NCRI) in Liverpool this week.

Study author Professor Robert Steele said in a statement: "For the first time, we can see the effects of a FOBt-based colorectal cancer screening programme in the real world of the NHS."

Survival rates

Bowel cancer is the third most common form of cancer in the UK, with around 40,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year. When found at its earliest stage, there is an excellent chance of survival with more than 90% of people surviving the disease at least five years. However, if the tumour has spread to other parts of the body when it is diagnosed, survival rates for the same period drop to just over 6%.

Bowel cancer screening programmes have been introduced in Britain, but there are variations:

• In England, the test is offered to men and women aged 60 to 74 who receive a testing kit every two years
• In Scotland, men and women also receive kits every two years until they are 74, but the tests start when they are 50
• In Wales, the NHS is sending out stool testing kits to people between the ages of 60 and 69 every two years. They hope to roll the service out to people aged between 50 and 74 by 2015