English Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot

Colorectal (Bowel) Cancer

• What are the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer?
• How many people get bowel cancer? (Incidence)
• How many people die of bowel cancer? (Mortality)
• Risk Factors

Colorectal (bowel) cancer is a malignant (cancerous) growth that starts on the inside wall of the bowel. It can grow there for a relatively long time before spreading to other parts of the body. Bowel cancer can develop in any part of the large bowel, including the colon and rectum.

What are the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer?

Some of the signs are:

• Repeated bleeding from the back passage or blood in the bowel motion.

• Persistent change in bowel habit (for 6 weeks) to looser bowel motions and/or needing to go to the toilet more than usual.

• Persistent change in bowel habit (for 6 weeks) to severe constipation.

• Severe colicky abdominal pain.

• Unexplained tiredness or weight loss.

These symptoms do not definitely mean that you have bowel cancer but they should be taken seriously.

How many people get bowel cancer? (Incidence)

In the UK about 35,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year. In England and Wales, this number is increasing by 1% every year for men (it is staying the same for women).

How many people die of bowel cancer? (Mortality)

In the UK, about 16,000 people will die of the disease every year, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK (lung cancer being the most common of all).

However, survival rates in the UK have improved over the past 25 years. Today, approximately half of the people diagnosed with bowel cancer will still be alive in 5 years time.

Risk factors

• Age
  Colorectal cancer can occur in younger people, but over 9 out of 10 people who get it are over the age of 50 years.

• A previous polyp or colorectal cancer
  Not all types of polyps increase the risk of bowel cancer, but a type called adenomatous polyp does.

• Personal history of chronic bowel inflammation
  Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease will slightly increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

• Diet
  A diet that is high in red meat and fat and low in vegetables, folate and fibre may increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

• Exercise
  Moderate exercise may help prevent colorectal cancer developing.

• Obesity
  Being overweight or obese may increase the risk of colorectal cancer developing.

• Smoking and alcohol
  Although not as strong a risk factor as for other cancers, smoking may also increase the risk of colorectal cancer, particularly in heavy drinkers. Alcohol consumption may increase risk, especially in those with low levels of folate in their diet.

• Family history
  Less than 1 in 10 cases of colorectal cancer are due to an inherited gene defect. However, there are certain families who have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer due to a variety of conditions including familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC).

• Personal history of colorectal cancer
  Having had colorectal cancer before increases the risk of a new cancer developing.

(Cancer Research UK)