The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New cancer test made simple to improve uptake
Diagnosis: Only one sample needed to help detect possible condition
A simpler bowel cancer screening test is being rolled out across Scotland.
The faecal immunochemical test (Fit) uses a single bowel motion sample, while the current test requires samples over three days.
Visiting the Scottish bowel screening lab in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, Health Secretary Shona Robison said the new test would boost screening uptake and help save lives.
She said: “Early diagnosis is crucial to saving lives. More than 90% of bowel cancer cases can be treated successfully, if diagnosed early.
“This new test will help us to better treat bowel cancer, Scotland’s second largest cancer killer with 1,600 deaths every year.
“The new test is easier to use than the previous process and this will increase the number of people completing screening. This will enable us to detect more conditions at an earlier stage, helping more people to beat bowel cancer than ever before.”
Following a pilot programme in 2016 involving 40,000 people, the UK National Screening Committee recommended the new test, which can identify pre-cancerous signs in people who otherwise have no symptoms and enable investigation and treatment, should be rolled out nationally.
It is offered to residents in Scotland aged 50 to 74, every two years.
Claire Donaghy, head of Scotland at Bowel Cancer UK, said: “This is an important and crucial step forward in saving more lives from bowel cancer.”