A NEW and improved bowel cancer screening test is finally being rolled out across England – after almost a year of delays.
It’s better at spotting cancer and easier for the public to use – meaning it could save thousands of lives each year.
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A major new report has criticised the NHS for delaying the new faecal immunochemical test (FIT) after health bosses promised it would be available last autumn.
Screening at 50 will save lives
Bowel cancer screening is estimated to save around 2,400 lives every year.
Currently the test is offered to everyone in England from the age of 60 – but across the border in Scotland screening starts at 50.
That’s why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign last April, calling on the Government to lower the screening age in England – a move which could save around 4,500 lives a year.
Last summer health secretary Matt Hancock announced they would be lowering the bowel cancer screening age – marking a victory for The Sun and campaigners.
But, to date that promise has not been acted upon – in part due to delays rolling out the new FIT test, and a shortage of staff to cope with the inevitable increase in colonoscopies.
New screening test rolled out
Today, Professor Sir Mike Richards, the NHS’s first cancer director and the CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, has outlined a new blueprint for the future of all NHS cancer screening.
His report notes the roll out of FIT started in June this year – but criticises delays in making the new test available.
Pilot studies trialling FIT showed it was effective in 2003.
Yet it took the UK National Screening Committee until late 2015 to recommend its use on the NHS and another four years for the public to be offered the test.
Sir Mike’s report states: “This (FIT) is a more sensitive test and is easier for participants as they only have to collect a single stool sample, rather than three.
“In 2004, evidence from large scale pilots in England showed that uptake was around 7 per cent higher than for FOBT (the current test), reflecting the increased acceptability of the test.
“Uptake has increased by 8.5 per cent since FIT was introduced in Scotland in November 2017.”
SIGNS OF BOWEL CANCER YOU NEED TO KNOW
IT can be embarrassing and unpleasant to talk about your guts, but we promise it’s important.
Bowel cancer, also known as colon cancer or colorectal cancer, is the fourth most common form of the disease in the UK, after breast, prostate andlung cancers.
It’s the UK’s 2nd deadliest cancer – after lung – claiming 16,000 lives a year, but it CAN be cured – if it’s caught early enough.
Fewer than one in ten people survive bowel cancer if it’s picked up at stage 4, but detected quickly, more than nine in ten patients will live five years or longer.
What are the red-flag signs of bowel cancer?
The five red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer include:
- bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo
- a change in your normal toilet habits – going more frequently for example
- pain or a lump in your tummy
- extreme tiredness
- losing weight
Tumours in the bowel typically bleed, which can cause a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia. It can cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.
In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction.
Other signs of bowel cancer include:
- gripping pains in the abdomen
- feeling bloated
- constipation and being unable to pass wind
- being sick
- feeling like you need to strain – like doing a number two – but after you’ve been to the loo
While these are all signs to watch out for, experts warn the most serious is noticing blood in your stools.
But, they warn it can prove tricky for doctors to diagnose the disease, because in most cases these symptoms will be a sign of a less serious disease.
2nd deadliest cancer – but it can be cured
Bowel cancer is the second deadliest form of the disease in the UK, claiming around 16,000 lives every year.
Yet, it can be cured, better still prevented – but early diagnosis is key to that.
Catch the disease at stage 1 and a patient has a 97 per cent chance of surviving five years or longer.
But, catch it at stage 4 – when the cancer has spread – and that chance plummets to just 7 per cent.
Screening is one of the best ways to catch the disease early – hence the importance of the new FIT test.
Sir Mike’s report notes: “At present, FIT is aimed at men and women aged 60 to 74, though the plan is to reduce the starting age to 50.
In August 2018, ministers agreed that the starting age for bowel screening should be lowered… Final decisions on the timescales for extension to lower ages and on increasing sensitivity are awaited
Prof Sir Mike Richards
“In August 2018, ministers agreed that the starting age for bowel screening should be lowered.
“It is also planned that over time the sensitivity level of the FIT screening test will be increased, thereby identifying a higher proportion of patients with cancer or polyps (pre-cancerous lumps).”
With a more effective screening test, comes the inevitable increase in people needing further cancer investigations.
When it comes to bowel cancer, patients with abnormal screening tests are often sent for a colonoscopy – where a camera is inserted into the bowel to look for polyps, or pre-cancerous lumps.
But staff shortages mean that is a “limiting factor,” Sir Mike warned.
“Final decisions on the timescales for extension to lower ages and on increasing sensitivity are awaited,” he added.
“While the five screening hubs have the capacity to process more FIT tests, optimising bowel cancer screening will have inevitable consequences for workforce.”
Welcomed news
Dr Lisa Wilde, director of research and external affairs at Bowel Cancer UK told The Sun the charity welcomes Sir Mike’s report.
“We are extremely pleased that the review echoes our concerns around NHS staff shortages, which must be addressed in order to deliver vital improvements to screening for bowel cancer.
“These include the Government’s commitment to lowering the screening age from 60 to 50, as well as increasing the sensitivity of the new, easier to use FIT test.
“We look forward to working with the Department of Health, PHE and NHS England to ensure bowel cancer can be prevented, or diagnosed at the earliest opportunity when treatment can be more successful.”
Dr Wilde also welcomed Sir Mike’s call for targeted screening for those people with Lynch syndrome.
It’s a genetic condition that increases a person’s risk of bowel cancer by as much as 80 per cent.
Regular colonoscopies for those with the condition can “significantly reduce their risk of dying so it is vital this is implemented”, she added.
Cancer screening in supermarkets and at work
Other recommendations in Sir Mike’s report include offering women cancer checks during their lunch breaks, and providing screening in supermarket car parks, and in the workplace to make it easier.
GPs will also get extra cash to provide out of hours and weekend appointments.
The NHS currently sends out 15 million invites each year for breast, bowel and cervical cancer screening, with 10 million getting checks.
Sir Mike said implementing the changes in his report could save thousands of lives annually.
He told The Sun: “We know when it comes to cancer, catching it early can save lives, but when life is so hectic it is all too easy to put your job or family ahead of your own health.
“When you can arrange everything from a plane ticket to a mortgage at the touch of a button we want to make health checks more convenient too – if and when they need it, people should be able to get screened for cancer when they pop out for lunch or a coffee.”
Sir Mike’s steps all contribute to the NHS Long Term Plan goal of saving an extra 55,000 lives each year within a decade by catching three quarters of all cancers early when they are easier to treat.
