Colonoscopy screening idea rejected

The Cancer Council has rejected calls for Australia to ditch FOBTs as the screening test for bowel cancer, in favour of colonoscopies. Media outlets last week reported comments by Professor Kerryn Phelps, who is calling for Australians to undergo colonoscopy every five years after the age of 50, instead of using FOBTs for screening. The reports come a day after the Federal Government released figures showing more than 4000 people have returned a positive FOBT result since the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program resumed late last year. Most of these were people who had returned a negative result using faulty tests distributed by the program from December 2008 until its suspension in May last year. Alison Peipers, chairwoman of the Cancer Council’s Bowel Cancer Screening Committee, said there was level I evidence to support population screening with FOBTs. In addition, the organisation was confident the program was back on track and accurate kits were being used, she said. The Federal Health Department said people who had received positive test results were being urged to see their doctor as soon as possible, preferably within two weeks. Professor Michael Grimm, president of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia, said doctors could reassure patients that a minority of the positive tests would be indicative of cancer. “The whole program is designed to pick up early lesions,” he said. “Bowel cancers develop over years and not over months, and it’s very likely that any detected even with this delay occurring are likely to be, relatively speaking, early cancers.” He expected the health system to be able to cope with a surge in demand for colonoscopies from the latest positive tests, but he said it was possible some people needing colonoscopy for less urgent reasons could be delayed to free up capacity....