Half of people ignoring bowel cancer screening

New research has found that half of people in England sent a home-testing kit for bowel cancer in 2015 did not use it.

The European Journal of Cancer says that only 49 per cent of people aged 60-64 who received a home test kit for the first time returned their samples in 2015, a decrease from 53 per cent in 2010. It also found that fewer men than women returned the kits.

Among women, 56 per cent returned samples, compared with 47 per cent of men. Cancer Research UK said people were missing out on a test that could reduce their risk of dying from bowel cancer by up to 25 per cent.

The current screening kit requires small stool samples to be posted for screening in specially sealed envelopes, but the University College London-led research claims that plans to bring bowel cancer screening in England to start 10 years earlier, at age 50, could increase uptake by seven per cent.

Dr Christian von Wagner, lead researcher from UCL, said: "The fact fewer and fewer people are returning their kits and that inequalities in the system are widening is very worrying. There is an urgent need to revolutionise bowel cancer screening because the earlier cancer is spotted, the more lives can be saved."

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with 42,000 people diagnosed every year.