New test for bowel cancer done at home will save embarrassment and pain

23 August 2023 , 23:01

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Test can eliminate need for hospital visit (Image: Channel 5)

At-home poo tests could spare tens of thousands from invasive colonoscopies to rule out cancer.

Procedures to check for cancers in the bowel, colon or rectum – which there are 42,000 new cases of every year – can cause discomfort. But new draft guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says faecal immuno-chemical tests should be offered to patients with signs of the disease.

A sample is posted to a lab, where the amount of blood in poo is checked, with results within a week. It is hoped the move could diagnose colorectal cancer when it is more curable and cut waiting times. Bowel Cancer UK chief Genevieve Edwards said: “This will help GPs to better identify and refer the right patients for further testing quickly.”

Bowel cancer checks could be done done from home (Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

FIT tests cost between £4 and £5 and can identify about nine in 10 people with the illness. NICE found 94,291 fewer colonoscopies would take place if referrals fell by 25%, adding that NHS capacity is limited. NICE director Mark Chapman said it was “balancing the best care with value for money”.

Prof Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, welcomed the move, saying: “GPs and hospital teams are already using FIT kits. Use tripled in the last year.”

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