The health and safety watchdog is to assess whether the State should extend bowel screening to those aged between 50 and 54 years old.
Colorectal cancer, also called bowel cancer, occurs in the lower part of the bowel – the colon and rectum.
In Ireland, colorectal cancer is the second most frequently occurring cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, in males and the third most common cancer in females, with an annual average of approximately 2,560 new cases between 2018 and 2020.
It also accounts for an average of approximately 1,000 deaths a year.
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The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has begun an assessment of extending the national colorectal cancer screening programme to those aged 50 and up.
BowelScreen uses a home test kit that looks for a level of blood in the stool. If the amount of blood found in the stool is above the screening limit, participants are referred for a colonoscopy. Currently, those aged 59 to 69 are invited for screening every two years, with a commitment to screen those aged 55 to 74 in the future.
Dr Máirín Ryan, deputy chief executive of Hiqa, and director of health technology assessment, said screening can “help to detect signs of cancer at an earlier stage, when there may not be any symptoms”.
“In this assessment, we will explore the benefits, potential harms, and organisational and ethical implications of extending the colorectal cancer screening age for patients, the general public, and the healthcare system in Ireland.”
Hiqa was requested to undertake this HTA by the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC), an independent advisory committee.
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