Genetic bowel cancer test failings revealed

Bowel Cancer UK has said that over 80 per cent of NHS hospitals in England are failing to test bowel cancer patients for the genetic condition Lynch syndrome.

The charity estimates that 166,000 people in the UK are unaware that they have the condition, which increases the risk of bowel and other cancers. Lynch syndrome is a genetic condition that increases your lifetime risk of bowel cancer to up to 80 per cent.

In February 2017 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that everyone in England newly diagnosed with bowel cancer should be tested for Lynch syndrome. However, a freedom of information request by the charity found that 83 per cent of NHS hospitals in England are not testing for the condition, with 91 per cent of those not testing for the condition citing financial pressures as the reason.

Testing for Lynch syndrome costs the NHS around £200 per patient, compared with treatment for bowel cancer which reaches around £25,000.

Deborah Alsina, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer, says: “Until there is clear local and national leadership and a firm commitment to improve the services for people at high risk of developing bowel cancer, the estimated 175,000 people who carry this inherited faulty gene will continue to fall through the gaps of health bodies because they are reluctant to take responsibility. At the moment, hospitals are being pushed from pillar to post, with no organisation being held accountable.

“The price of testing for Lynch syndrome is peanuts, only £200 per patient. This far outweighs the cost of treating bowel cancer patients. A lack of funding and resources from budget holders means that hospitals’ hands are tied. Until these issues are being addressed generations of families will continue to be devastated by cancer and lives will be needlessly lost.”

The news was revealed ahead of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April.