A "simple" medical procedure could save hundreds of lives from bowel cancer if it was offered to adults just before they reached retirement age, British researchers said today.
Campaigners called for the test, known as Flexi-scope, to be offered to all adults aged between 55 and 64 after a study showed dramatic results.
An analysis, published in The Lancet, found a 43 per cent cut in deaths from bowel cancer through Flexi-scope screening.
The test, also known as flexible sigmoidoscopy, involves using a viewing tube, which enables doctors to detect and remove growths which can become cancerous.
The findings will spark debate about bowel cancer screening, as current programmes rely on members of the public sending samples for laboratory testing.
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said the test should be added to the existing screening programmes.
He said: "Such a programme, backed by all UK governments, would save thousands of lives and spare tens of thousands of families the anxiety and suffering associated with a cancer diagnosis, whilst also saving the NHS money."
Some 170,000 people took part in the trial, conducted by Imperial College London over an 11 year period.
Researcher Professor Wendy Atkins said Flexi-scope screening could save thousands of lives.
She said: "Our study shows for the first time that we could dramatically reduce the incidence of bowel cancer, and the number of people dying from the disease, by using this one-off test. No other bowel cancer screening technique has ever been shown to prevent the disease."
Professor Max Parmar, of the UK Medical Research Council, which helped fund the research, said: "As most of the NHS cancer screening tests are for women, flexi-scope presents an opportunity for men to enter screening programmes as well."
‘Once-only flexible sigmoidoscopy screening in prevention of colorectal cancer: multicentre randomised controlled trial’, The Lancet, 28 April 2010.
Leave a Reply