Bowel cancer tests 'should begin ten years earlier'

Bowel cancer screening should happen ten years earlier, say experts, they discovered a 400 per cent rise in abnormalities in people's late forties. The NHS offers bowel screening to those aged 55, but the latest study concludes that people over 45 should be tested. They found that neoplasia, abnormal tissue, increases by 400 per cent in those aged 45-49 compared to those aged 40-44. The mean number of polyps - an abnormality - and those with more than one adenoma - a benign tumour - also increased by 95.8% and 95.4% respectively between the 40-44 and 45-49 age groups. This was far more substantial than the increase between the 45-49 and 50-54 age groups, which was 19.1% and 11.5% respectively.
Experts are now calling on the NHS to offer earlier colorectal cancer sceenings. The current scheme gives anyone aged 60-74 a faecal blood test every two years. An additional bowel scope screening is offered to anyone aged 55. Dr David Karsenti and his team from France analysed 6,027 colonoscopies in their research, which was presented at the United Europe Gastroenterology Week in Barcelona.
He said: 'These findings demonstrate that it is at 45 years old that a remarkable increase in the colorectal lesions frequency is shown, especially in the detection rate of early neoplasia.
Even when patients with a familial and personal history of polyps or cancer are excluded from the findings, there is still a noticeable increase indetection rates in patients from the age of 45.'
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in Europe and kills 215,000 people every year. Three in ten diagnoses are among people younger than 55. Dr Karsenti believes early screening for bowel cancer reduces mortality rates and has slammed schemes where screening is only offered for those over the age of 50. He added: 'Regardless of the type of screening that is in place, the results of our research strongly indicate that screening for colorectal cancer shouldbegin at the age of 45.
'This will this help us to increase the early detection of colorectal cancer in young adults and also enable the identification and safe removal of polyps that may become cancerous at a later date.'