Good results for bowel cancer testing

“A bowel cancer screening programme in England is on course to cut deaths by a sixth,” the BBC has reported. The story goes on to say, however, that there is concern “that the programme misses tumours in certain parts of the colon”.

This story is based on analysis of the first round of England’s Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, which was introduced in 2006. Screening programmes are designed to test for signs of a disease among people without symptoms. They can often detect diseases early, allowing treatment to be given at a stage when it is more likely to be effective at improving outcomes and lowering the risk of death. The screening programme invites people between the ages of 60 and 69 to participate, by giving them home faeces sampling kits that can be posted to a lab to check for traces of blood. Those who screen positive at this stage are then invited to undergo further diagnostic tests.

To date, the programme has invited about 2 million people to participate, with around half accepting and returning a sample. The results of the analysis suggest that if the early results are maintained, the screening programme will achieve the intended 16% reduction in overall bowel cancerdeaths.

Read more - http://www.lutterworthmail.co.uk/news/health/good-results-for-bowel-cancer-testing-1-4841096

'Promising results' for bowel cancer breath-test

Scientists say they have developed a breath-test that can accurately tell if a person has bowel cancer.

The test, which looks for exhaled chemicals linked to tumour activity, was able to identify a majority of patients with the disease.

The British Journal of Surgery reported an overall accuracy of 76%.

However, another scientist said it was unlikely a fully functioning and reliable breath-test would be available soon for the general public.

Scientists are working on breath-tests for a host of other diseases, including several types of cancer, TB and diabetes.

If diagnosed and treated early, the chances of stopping cancer can be good, but there is often little or no outward sign of the disease until it has progressed significantly.

read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20599238

Over-60s urged to perform bowel cancer test as scientists reveal they DO boost chances of survival

People aged over 60 have been urged to have regular bowel cancer screenings after scientists found those who did had a better chance of survival.

Experts said those who performed the test at home and went to subsequent appointments were more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage than those diagnosed from their symptoms.

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in both men and women, with around 40,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year.

Researchers looked at people aged 60 to 69 who were diagnosed with the disease in the West Midlands between January 2006 and September 2011.

They compared the stage at diagnosis in patients picked up at screening compared to those diagnosed from symptoms.

They found that 18.5 per cent of bowel cancers detected through screening were at the earliest stages compared with 9.4 per cent of cancers diagnosed through symptomatic routes.

Sam Johnson, lead researcher based at the West Midlands Cancer Intelligence Unit, said: 'When bowel cancer is diagnosed at an earlier stage, it's easier to treat, has a lower chance of coming back and better survival rates.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2159259/Men-urged-attend-bowel-cancer-screenings-scientists-reveal-DO-boost-chances-survival.html#ixzz22kccpy15