Scots bowel cancer risk higher than UK

PEOPLE living in parts of Scotland are three times more likely to die from bowel cancer than in any other part of the UK, according to new rankings published today.

Glasgow was cited as the worst in the country for the number of deaths from the disease per year, followed by Orkney and Falkirk. The Borders came tenth in the list.

The Beating Bowel Cancer charity published the rates per 100,000 in conjunction with an online map to allow users to find the mortality rate according to their postcode.

It said if all parts of the country shared the lowest death rates, more than 5,000 lives a year would be saved.

Beating Bowel Cancer’s chief executive Mark Flannagan said bowel cancer was one of the “last taboos” but insisted the high rates were not merely another example of Scotland’s poor health record.

He said: “This is not about blame. Nobody is doing well on bowel cancer. Early diagnosis is key and screening works. We need to continue the work we are doing.

“It is difficult to know why there are the variations. It might be down to earlier diagnosis in one region over another, or variation in population itself. Just a few people getting diagnosed early can have a marked effect on the rates. This map asks more questions than it answers.

“Too many people are dying from bowel cancer, no matter where they live. Deaths from bowel cancer could, and should, be much less common. Early diagnosis is key so today we are calling on people to take responsibility for their bowel cancer risk.

“It will be extremely important for local NHS organisations to examine information for their own areas and use it to inform potential changes in delivery of services. It is clear there is more work to be done and it is more important than ever that the measures outlined in the cancer reform strategy are implemented locally,”

Mr Flannagan added that the map would be continuously updated from now on and praised Scotland’s screening programme, which starts at the age of 50, ten years earlier than in England, Wales and parts of Northern Ireland.

Glasgow had a death rate of 31.1 per 100,000 per year, almost twice the UK average of 17.6. Rossendale, Lancashire, and Crawley, West Sussex, both had the lowest rate at 9.2 per 100,000.

All the figures date from 2008, the latest available on bowel cancer. The charity said it hoped more updated numbers would be available soon.

There were no available figures for the Western Isles, said the charity.

Cancer experts warned that, while they wanted people to be screened for the disease, the numbers were oversimplistic.

Falkirk had the third highest death rate of 27.6 per 100,000 but Stirling had the lowest in Scotland at 10 per 100,000. Both are served by the same health authority and specialists in NHS Forth Valley.

Ian Finlay, consultant colorectal surgeon based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said: “The conclusion of the charity is grossly oversimplified.

“The discrepancy is probably not down to service provision. Stirling and Falkirk are part of the same health board, and get the same level of care.

“Falkirk might have more social deprivation and less attendance at screening appointments.

“The data shows you there’s something not quite right because all those patients are going to the same place, getting the same treatment with the same doctors.

“But the message the charity is trying to get out to participate in screening is a good one.

“The message that would be better is if people attend these screenings, and have pre-cancerous polyps removed, then in due course, theoretically, there will be no more cancers.”