bowel scope in colorectal cancer screening
Last reviewed 01/2018
Bowel scope screening is a new part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and is being rolled out across England from 2013
- involves once - only flexible sigmoidoscopy for all men and women around the time of the 55th birthday
- everyone will still be invited to take part in Faecal Occult Blood testing every two years from the age of 60y
- anybody 55-59 can self-refer if their GP practice is live and they missed the invitation, the interested person should call 0800 707 60 60 to check their eligibility (1)
Risks of procedure:
- minor rectal bleeding after the procedure may occur but about 1 in 3,000 have serious bleeding needing hospital admission
- a very small risk of bowel perforation (about 1 in 30,000)
Benefits of bowel scope screening:
- key benefit of bowel scope screening is prevention of colorectal cancer
- bowel scope screening was found to reduce the incidence of colorectal
cancer over 11 years' follow up from 5 in 300 to 3 in 300 in a UK randomised
controlled trial
- ie 2 cases of colorectal cancer are prevented for every 300 people screened
- bowel scope screening was found to reduce the incidence of colorectal
cancer over 11 years' follow up from 5 in 300 to 3 in 300 in a UK randomised
controlled trial
- reduces colorectal cancer mortality
- reduces colorectal cancer deaths over 11 years' follow up from 2 in
300 to 1 in 300
- ie 1 colorectal cancer death is prevented for every 300 people screened
- reduces colorectal cancer deaths over 11 years' follow up from 2 in
300 to 1 in 300
Reference:
- http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/bowel-cancer-screening/Pages/bowel-scope-screening.aspx
- Atkin WS, Cook CF, Cuzick J, Edwards R, Northover JM, Wardle J (2002). Single flexible sigmoidoscopy screening to prevent colorectal cancer: baseline findings of a UK multicentre randomised trial. Lancet 359 (9314) : 1291 - 300.