The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Monitoring report 2022 has estimated that in 2021 about 7,365 people aged 50–74 were diagnosed with bowel cancer.
This represented about 47 per cent of all bowel cancers diagnosed) and 1,908 people in this age group died from the disease (around 36 per cent of all bowel cancer deaths).
Of the 5.8 million people invited between January 2019 and December 2020, 43.8 per cent participated in the program.
The national participation rate was slightly higher than the previous rolling two-year period (2018–2019) (43.5 per cent).
The re-participation rate for those who took part in their previous invitation round and were receiving a subsequent screening invitation was 82.2 per cent.
For those who had ever previously participated, the re-participation rate was 76.6 per cent.
In 2020, 85,693 Australians returned a positive screening test, giving a 7 per cent screening positivity rate. Of those who received a positive screening test, 62 per cent reported a follow-up diagnostic assessment.
The median time from positive screening test result to diagnostic assessment was 49 days.
As the return of forms is not mandatory, diagnostic assessment data were not considered complete enough to allow formal performance indicator reporting.
However, of the data available for participants who had a diagnostic assessment in 2020, one in 95 were diagnosed with a confirmed or suspected cancer (104 and 454, respectively) and adenomas were diagnosed in a further 2,583 (1 in 20 participants assessed).
Adenomas are benign growths with potential to become cancerous; their removal lowers the risk of future bowel cancers developing.
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) began in 2006. It aims to reduce the morbidity and mortality from bowel cancer by actively recruiting and screening the eligible target population, aged 50–74, for early detection or prevention of the disease.
