Scientists have found ‘irrefutable' evidence that screening for bowel cancer is an extremely effective health initiative.

According to Prof Philippe Autier of the International Prevention Research Institute in France, this type of screening is extremely effective at reducing mortality from the disease.

Bowel (colorectal) cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in Ireland. More than 2,200 people are diagnosed with the disease here every year. It is also the second biggest cancer killer here.

BowelScreen is Ireland's recently introduced bowel cancer screening programme. Initially it will offer home testing kits to men and women aged between 60 and 69, however over time, the programme will be expanded to include people aged between 55 and 74.

According to Prof Autier, he and his team ‘saw quite clearly that the greater proportions of men and women who were screened, the greater the reductions in mortality'.

"Reduced death rates from colorectal cancer were not noticeable in countries where screening was low, even though healthcare services in those countries were similar to those in countries where screening was more widespread," he noted.

He insisted that ‘the evidence could not be clearer'.

"It is therefore very disappointing that national differences in the availability of colorectal cancer screening programmes are still so pronounced," Prof Autier said.

He and his team believe there are a number of reasons why screening rates differ from country to country in Europe.

"First, many countries still do not have a national colorectal cancer screening programme. Second, the acceptability of screening methods is often low, sometimes due to cultural differences between countries. There is also the question of the availability of qualified personnel. In some countries, there are insufficient gastroenterologists available to perform endoscopy," he pointed out.

He said that his team would like to investiagte the cost-effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening, as they believe it ‘has the potential to bring about economic gains associated with averted colorectal cancer cases and deaths'.

These gains, they insisted, would more than pay for the costs of screening.

"If two-thirds of eligible people in each country attend screening, we believe that we could see a considerable reduction in colorectal cancer mortality in a minimum of 10 years. National healthcare services need to put more effort into organising screening programmes and into informing people about the availability of these tests so that they can make a choice," Prof Autier said.

He presented his findings on this topic to the 2013 European Cancer Congress in Amsterdam.

For more information on BowelScreen, click here