Efforts to save lives using bowel cancer screening may miss hundreds of people because of resistance from some sections of society, researchers warned today.
An analysis published today suggests reluctance amongst people in Britain’s poorest neighbourhoods to take part in screening.
The project, trialled in London, UK, has involved sending people home testing kits to be returned with samples.
A Cancer Research UK study found that 50 per cent of people in the wealthiest neighbourhoods took part. But one third of people in the poorest areas returned samples.
More than 400,000 test kits were sent out for the trial.
Researcher Professor Jane Wardle, of University College London, UK, said: "Our study reveals a worrying pattern, but we don’t know why social class has played such a major role in screening uptake.
"Bowel cancer screening may not be pleasant, but this seems to be less of a deterrent for those who are better off. Future research will need to discover what the key barriers are."
Professor Mike Richards, government National Cancer Director, said the research was helping to explain reasons for late diagnosis of cancer.
He said: "It is now generally accepted that late diagnosis of cancer is a key reason for England having lower cancer survival rates than other comparable countries."
Inequalities in colorectal cancer screening participation in the first round of the national screening programme in England. Von Wagner et al. British Journal of Cancer (supplement). December 2009.
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