What stops people having effective bowel surveillance and increases future cancer risk?
Lead researcher: Professor Katie Robb and Dr Stephen McSorley
Location: University of Glasgow
Grant award: £165,000
Professor Robb, Dr McSorley and their team are investigating the barriers to surveillance colonoscopy faced by people in areas with more deprivation.
The challenge
When people take part in bowel screening, those who have blood found in their poo sample are invited for a colonoscopy. Around 1 in 20 of those invited for a colonoscopy will be found to have cancer, but more people will have a precancerous growth called a polyp, which can be removed during the colonoscopy.
Some people who've had a polyp removed have a higher risk of developing further polyps in the future, which can develop into bowel cancer. Because of this increased risk, these people are invited back for a surveillance colonoscopy three years later.
Attendance at these surveillance colonoscopies is worse in areas of higher deprivation. People in these areas also have higher risk of bowel cancer, are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are more likely to die from bowel cancer.
The science behind the project
Professor Robb and Dr McSorley's team have developed a questionnaire to understand how people feel about surveillance colonoscopies and if they face any difficulties having the procedure. This survey will be sent to colonoscopy patients in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde region, in both high and low-deprivation areas.
They'll be talking to healthcare professionals who deliver bowel screening and surveillance services in the region, to get their perspective on surveillance participation.
The results from the questionnaire and interviews will be used to identify barriers faced by people in areas of higher deprivation invited to a surveillance colonoscopy and develop ideas about how to overcome these barriers.
As well as this social aspect, the researchers will be examining tissue from patients from high and low deprivation areas, to see if there are any biological differences in bowel polyps and tumours that could be contributing to poorer outcomes.
This study is building on work we previously funded – read about the pilot project.
What difference will this project make?
Increasing participation in surveillance colonoscopy will help more people who are at higher risk of bowel cancer to be diagnosed at an earlier stage, when their cancer is more treatable.
Focusing on more deprived areas will help to reduce screening inequalities, as any solutions developed will be tailored to the groups at higher risk, who can benefit most.
- For more information see our announcement of the grant
- Learn more about colonoscopies
- Donate to help make our research possible
“We are very grateful to Bowel Cancer UK for their generous support to take forward our research to better understand inequalities in bowel cancer outcomes. The award builds on our previous pilot research funded by Bowel Cancer UK and will break new ground in understanding biological, health care system and patient factors in advanced adenoma risk after bowel screening colonoscopy. This research will help us improve bowel surveillance to the benefit of patients and the NHS.” - Professor Katie Robb