$10m to boost cancer screening

THE federal government has announced a $10m fund for cancer research across Australia.

The national program aims to increase participation in cancer screenings for breast, bowel and cervical cancer – diseases with some of the highest mortality rates in the country.

The pool of funds is to be divided among eight research projects, including the University of Melbourne, where research into bowel cancer screening will be conducted.

Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt said regular screenings and early detection could lead to better outcomes for cancer treatments. “Australia’s cancer screening programs are world-leading and it’s simple – we know cancer screening saves lives,” Mr Hunt said.

“This research is critical because the more we can do to understand the challenges preventing Australians from getting regular screenings, the more we can do to innovate the programs, maximise protection and save more lives.”

All of the research projects aim to target and remove barriers to cancer screenings in various communities, including addressing the discrepancies in health and accessibility between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians.

Under the current national bowel cancer screening program, up to 84,000 lives could be saved but participation is not high enough to see these results – at least 60 per cent participation is required yet it remains below 45 per cent.

The University of Melbourne will receive $1.5m of the fund pool to trial the efficacy of a program titled SMARTERscreen – an SMS messaging system to GP patients who have not been screened for bowel cancer.

The remaining funds will be distributed to research facilities around the country and other projects will focus on cervical and breast screening participation.