Screening detects 200 bowel cancer cases

Almost 200 cases of bowel cancer have been detected since a national screening programme began last year, according to early results.

But it is too soon to say whether the initiative is saving lives because it isn’t clear yet if the detected cases are in early or late stages of the disease, said the HSE.

Some 45 per cent of the 250,000 people so far invited for screening have taken part in the national colorectal cancer screening programmes, the Irish Society of Gastroenterology will hear today.

The vast majority of tests – 95 per cent – were normal while 5 per cent were referred for a colonoscopy.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in Ireland. Each year almost 2,500 people are diagnosed and 1,000 people die from it.

More than half of people with bowel cancer are diagnosed in the later stages of the disease, requiring more complex treatment with a poorer chance of survival. The aim of screening is to find the cancer at an early stage when it is easier and more successful to treat.

Dr Alan Smith, medical director of the HSE National Cancer Screening Service, said the participation rate was broadly in line with screening programmes in other countries but the aim was to increase it to 50 per cent. Women were better than men in accepting the screening invitation.

Screening is offered to men and women aged 60 to 69 years, and takes the form of a home-testing kit which is posted out.