Bowel Screening Wales Annual Statistical Report 2022-23

Key messages

Bowel screening reduces the risk of dying from bowel cancer;
During the earlier part of this reporting period, men and women aged 58 to 74 were invited to take part every two years. The age range was extended to 55 to 74 years from October 2022, taking a phased approach so that only around half of those newly eligible were invited for screening during this reporting period;
People can feel well even if they have early bowel cancer. Finding cancer early gives the best chance of survival;
Bowel screening uses a free NHS test that can be completed easily at home;
Screening will miss some cancers, and some cancers cannot be cured;
Taking part in bowel screening is an individual’s choice. We encourage people invited for screening to read the information pack carefully to help them make their decision.

Background

This is the tenth annual statistical report published by Bowel Screening Wales. This report covers data for the financial year 2022-23.

Bowel Screening Wales was launched in October 2008 with the aim to reduce the number of people dying from bowel cancer in the group of people invited for screening in Wales. The bowel screening programme identifies bowel cancers early when treatment is more likely to be successful and also removes pre-cancerous growths that could develop into cancer over a period of time. In the year 2022-23 Bowel Screening Wales diagnosed 376 people with bowel cancer and removed polyps from 2,733 screening participants.

The 2022 Annual Report from the National Bowel Cancer Audit reported that 10% of patients diagnosed with bowel cancer were referred via screening programmes in England and Wales. People with a cancer detected by screening had less advanced disease and were generally fitter. As a result, 86% of patients diagnosed via screening received curative treatment compared to 50% who presented as an emergency.

Summary of activity in reported year

During this reporting period Bowel Screening Wales expanded the eligible age range for bowel cancer screening in Wales. From October 2022, individuals aged between 55 and 57 started to be invited for screening for the first time (eligible population age range 55-74). This age expansion was phased in, with approximately 50% of those newly eligible 55-57 year olds invited by the end of March 2023. As such, the data presented in this report will relate to individuals aged 58-74 between April 2022 and September 2022 and 55-74 between October 2022 and March 2023.

Looking forward to the next screening year

The age expansion described above is part of a longer-term (4-year) plan to expand the eligible screening age to 50-74. From October 2023, the eligible screening was expanded further to include those aged from 51, and will include those aged from 50 from October 2024. During this time period Bowel Screening Wales has also increased the sensitivity of the screening faecal immunochemical test (FIT), with further plans to increase this in the future.

Headline statistics

This report covers the time period from April 2022 to March 2023.

Bowel screening coverage as of 1st October 2023 was 63.1%.
Coverage on 1st October 2023 ranged from 62.2% in Swansea Bay University Health Board to 64.4% in Powys Teaching Health Board.
Bowel screening uptake for participants invited (and eligible) between April 2022 and March 2023 was 65.9%.

Uptake in 2022-23 ranged from 65.0% in Swansea Bay University Health Board to 67.7% in Powys Teaching Health Board.

Coverage and uptake rates were higher in females. Coverage was 65.1% in females compared to 61.2% in males, uptake was 68.1% in females compared to 63.7% in males.

Coverage and uptake rates were also higher in those living in the least deprived areas (69.6% and 72.8% respectively in the least deprived areas compared to 54.4% and 56.6% respectively in the most deprived areas).
417,683 participants were invited¹ for bowel screening.
269,240 tests were authorised of which 2.1% were rejected as they could not be tested.

263,516 tests were given a definitive result, of which 98.1% were negative and 1.9% were positive.

A results letter was issued to 100% of the participants within a week (less than seven calendar days) of receipt by the laboratory.

Across Wales, 15.2% of participants with a screening positive result were offered a diagnostic procedure (colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy) within four weeks of contacting Bowel Screening Wales to make the appointment with a Screening Practitioner.

63.2% of participants with a screening positive result were offered a diagnostic procedure within eight weeks.

Attendance at the first diagnostic procedure was 95.0% with 3,725 participants attending a first procedure.
At the first diagnostic procedure, the cancer detection rate was 10.1%, polyp detection rate was 73.4% and the adenoma detection rate was 56.7%.
376 participants were diagnosed with cancer and 2,733 participants had polyps detected and removed.

Across Wales, 91.4% of booked Computed Tomography Colonography (CTC) scans were attended.

¹ This invited number is not the same as invited and eligible participants used for uptake calculations.