A short five-minute screening test could cut the risk of developing bowel cancer by a third. Around nine in ten cases of colon cancer occur in people aged 55 and above. This test could prevent 5,000 cases of the disease and slash 3,000 deaths a year, according to a UK study.
Bowel cancer, also commonly referred to as colorectal or colon cancer occurs in the colon, an area spanning from the large intestine to the rectum (end of the colon). There are virtually no tell-tale signs of bowel cancer in its early stages.
A study conducted by researchers from the Imperial College London found that screening with a single flexible sigmoidoscopy, called the Flexi-Scope test, in men and women aged between 55 and 64 slashed the incidence of bowel cancer, compared with a control group who did not receive the screening.
Over the course of the randomised 11-year study involving over 170,000 participants, colon cancer mortality was reduced by 43 percent in the group that had the Flexi-Scope test compared with the control group. It is by far the first study that has showed a drastic reduction in the occurrence of bowel cancer and the number of people dying from this disease. To date, no other bowel cancer screening has shown such results.
How Does This Test Work?
The Flexi-Scope test is a painless procedure that utilises a flexible plastic or metal tube (sigmoidoscopy) where it is inserted into the rectum to examine the lower part of the colon, called the sigmoid. The tube has a light source and a tiny camera to detect any fleshy growth (generally referred to as a polyp) or inflamed tissue found within the bowel wall. The aim of this screening is to find polyps early and have them removed before they turn cancerous. Polyps can actually be harmless but cancer does begin as a polyp which is why removal is deemed as a preventive measure.
Currently, the screening method for bowel cancer involves the faecal blood test which looks for traces of blood in stools naked to the eye. This blood test is still very much essential to detect areas of the colon where the Flexi-Scope is unable to reach.
Difference Between Colonscopy and Sigmoidoscopy
The Flexi-Scope does sound very similar to a colonscopy since both involves inserting a tube. The difference lies with the scope of the view. A colonoscopy enables the doctor to see the entire colon while a sigmoidoscopy focuses the view specifically on just the sigmoid colon or the lower third of the colon. A sigmoidoscopy requires less preparation as compared to a colonscopy.
Source: Daily Mail
Chapter: Cancer :: 16 July 2010
