5,100 Australians referred for further bowel cancer tests
Cath Hart, The Australian
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MORE than 5100 Australians have been referred for further medical testing after returning positive results in the National Bowel Cancer Screening program.
Figures from the Department of Health and Ageing show the screening program detected at least 44 potentially cancerous adenomas and 29 cancers since it began in August.
Under the scheme, 300,000 people were asked to register to undertake a faecal occult blood test, which is completed in the home and posted to a pathology lab for testing.
About 90,000 people signed up to do the FOBT, which involves taking samples from two separate bowel motions.
Bowel cancer is the second-most common cause of cancer-related death in Australia despite being one of the most curable types of cancer, if it is detected early.
The screening program aims to alert participants who may have potentially pre-cancerous polyps in their bowel by detecting small amounts of blood in faeces.
Katherine Ellard, spokeswoman for the Gastroenterological Society of Australia, said the program's 28.5 per cent uptake rate was good but predicted it would increase.
"One of the things they've been thinking about is how to increase the uptake. People have a distaste for dealing with their poo, although women are much better than men, perhaps because they do pap smears and breast screens."
Dr Ellard said a positive FOBT did not always indicate cancer.
"If you have a positive result it certainly doesn't mean you have cancer - in fact only 2-3 per cent of the positive results have cancer," she said.
-Reuters
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