04.02.16
Thousands more would take cancer tests if letters had GP backing
Almost 40,000 more people could take a bowel cancer test in England each year if the letter inviting them to do so was backed by their GP, a study has found.
Assuming GP endorsement, this could lead to an additional 61 cases of bowel cancer being diagnosed annually, as well as improve the detection of early signs of cancer in up to 165 more people.
Researchers at the National Institute for Health Research looked at the effect of adding a GP practice endorsement in the invitation letter patients aged 60-74, who currently receive for do-it-yourself cancer tests every two years. The letter is sent to them two weeks before the testing kit arrives in the post.
In practice, this only meant adding a simple sentence across the top of the letter, stating that the recipients’ named GP practice supports the bowel cancer screening programme.
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, involved more than 265,000 people and found that a clear higher percentage of them completed the test after receiving the modified letter than the usual letter.
Chief investigator and head of the Department of Applied Health Research at University College London, Prof Rosalind Raine, said: “Our research suggests that adding this endorsement sentence to the invitation letter is a simple, cheap and effective way of encouraging more people overall to take the screening test – which could help some of them detect their bowel cancer sooner, or perhaps even avoid the disease all together.
“We think the endorsement works because people tend to trust their GP and take more notice of a letter that mentions their GP practice, rather than just arriving out of the blue from the national screening programme. We were encouraged that eight in 10 GP practices we approached gave us permission for their name to be used on the letter.”
Investigators also tried to find a possible link between the endorsement and narrowing the gap between people from deprived and affluent areas taking the test, but there was no significant correlation.
But there are over 42,000 new cases of bowel cancer in the UK each year, and while death rates have dropped over the last decade, around 16,000 people still die from the disease annually. Cancer Research UK predicts the screening programme will save more than 2,000 lives each year in the UK by 2025.
Dr Jodie Moffat, head of early diagnosis at Cancer Research UK, said: “Bowel screening has already made a big difference to the lives of many people – and this interesting study adds to ongoing work to ensure that the screening programme is as effective as possible.
“GPs aren’t routinely involved in the bowel screening programme because the test is done at home, and this lack of involvement can discourage some people from taking part. It’s up to individuals whether or not to take the test, but this research highlights the power of engaging with GP practices to help more people benefit from the bowel screening programme.”
Analysts at Cancer Research UK also found that death rates from all types of cancer in the UK have dropped by nearly 10% over the past decade. This is largely due to improvements in detection, diagnosis and treatments and comes as majorly positive news on today’s World Cancer Day.