Big screening gains: study

BOWELCANCER screening in New Zealand will costeffectively improve health, but will not reduce health inequalities, University of Otago researchers say.

A free national programme for people 60 to 74 started being rolled out this month.

Using computer modelling, researchers found the programme was costeffective for both Maori and nonMaori, and men and women, study senior author Prof Tony Blakely said.

‘‘We simulated the effect of a faecal occult blood screening every two years for 50 to 74yearolds in New Zealand and found the health gains to be large,’’ he said.

The screening costs the New Zealand health system about $2930 (in 2011 values) per qualityadjusted lifeyear gained.

Prof Blakely said that, generally, an intervention costing less than about $50,000 per qualityadjusted lifeyear gained was considered a ‘‘good buy’’ for society — ‘‘so this is a ‘very good buy’.’’

He said the reason bowel cancer screening was so effective was it not only detected precancerous lesions, called polyps, and removed them, lowering cancer rates, it could also detect cancer cases earlier.

But the study — published in the

American journal

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention — also pointed to a potential downside.

Lead author Dr Melissa McLeod said the screening achieved less health gain for Maori, because they had lower rates of bowel cancer in the first place.

She said it was important to increase screening rates as much as was practical for Maori to lessen the inequality impacts.

At the same time, other policies were needed that offered bigger health gains for Maori, such as smoking prevention and reducing obesity.

Dr McLeod said also needed was a focus on other screening programmes that addressed cancers that occurred in high rates in Maori, such as cervical cancer and stomach cancer. — NZN