THE number of people being diagnosed with bowel cancer dropped by 40 per cent during the coronvirus pandemic, a study has revealed.
Experts also revealed that those diagnosed with the cancer between 15 March 2020 and 28 February 2021 were older, had more complications and had a more advanced stage of the disease.
Bowel cancer is the second deadliest form of the disease in the UK, but it can be cured if it’s caught early enough.
Early diagnosis saves lives and is why Trending In The News launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign in April 2018, calling on the Government to lower the screening age for the disease from 60 to 50.
The new research, published in EMOTIVE, shows that during the pandemic there was also a fall in the number of colonoscopies being performed.
A colonoscopy is a test which checks inside of your bowels to see what is causing symptoms.
Typical bowel cancer symptoms include a change in bowel habits and abdominal pain bought on by eating.
The research was conducted across multiple hospitals in Spain and found that of 1,385 cases diagnosed over two years, a third were diagnosed pre-pandemic from 24,860 colonoscopies.
This compares to 517 cases that were diagnosed during the pandemic, which saw a 27 per cent drop in the number of colonoscopies being performed.
The experts say the drop off in diagnosis is due to the suspension of screening programmes and the postponement of non-urgent colonoscopy investigations during the pandemic.
Covid meant that many services had to be postponed and as a result, the study found that fewer bowel cancers were identified – with just 4.3 per cent having been found compared to 21 per cent in the year before the pandemic.
However, the experts also said that more patients were diagnosed as a result of coming forward with their symptoms – accounting for 81.2 per cent of diagnoses compared to 69 per cent in the year before the pandemic.
Dr María José Domper Arnal, from the Service of Digestive Diseases, University Clinic Hospital and lead author of the study said the findings were ‘very worrying’.
She explained: “Cases of colorectal cancer undoubtedly went undiagnosed during the pandemic.
“Not only were there fewer diagnoses, but those diagnosed tended to be at a later stage and suffering from more serious symptoms.”
