Around 600 more cases of bowel cancer could be detected early each year under an improved screening programme that could save the NHS millions.
NHS England said it will lower the detection threshold for its home-screening kit from next month, making thousands more adults eligible for further investigation.
Some 2,000 more patients with high-risk polyps in their bowel, which are growths that can go on to become bowel cancer, are also expected to be picked up by the change.
As a result, the NHS is expected to carry out 35 per cent more colonoscopies – about 34,000 extra – each year to help diagnose or rule out bowel cancer.
The home faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is offered to everyone aged 50 and over and works by picking up signs of blood in a stool sample.
The threshold that triggers further testing is 120micrograms of haemoglobin per gram of faeces, but this is set to be lowered to 80 in England, in line with Scotland and Wales.
In Northern Ireland, the FIT threshold will remain at 120. Currently, around 2 per cent of people who take the test need further investigation.
This is now expected to rise to 3 per cent, with 600 more cases being detected early each year – an 11 per cent increase.
BBC broadcaster Dame Deborah James died of bowel cancer in 2022
Once fully implemented, the change is expected to cut late-stage diagnoses and deaths from bowel cancer in England by around 6 per cent and could save the NHS £32million each year.
The disease kills around 17,400 a year. One high-profile victim was BBC broadcaster Dame Deborah James, who died in 2022 aged 40, having set up bowelbabe.org to raise funds for research.
The UK National Screening Committee (NSC) recommends an optimal threshold for further testing of 20micrograms of haemoglobin.
However, owing to the increased demand this puts on NHS services such as colonoscopy and pathology, the UK NSC has recommended only a gradual working towards this threshold.
NHS England will also launch new digital alerts to tell people the kits are in the post in a bid to boost uptake.
The Government’s National Cancer Plan, which will set out its drive to transform cancer care by 2035, will be published next week.
Peter Johnson, of NHS England, said: ‘Testing at a lower threshold will provide a better early-warning system for bowel cancer, helping us to spot and treat cancers earlier, often picking up problems before symptoms appear.
‘In many cases people could avoid facing cancer altogether by having dangerous polyps removed before they cause harm.’
Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: ‘Increasing the sensitivity of the test means more cancers will be prevented and found earlier, saving more lives from the UK’s fourth most common cancer.’
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said of the lower threshold: ‘Bowel cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer death in England, so it’s crucial that progress like this continues.
‘Screening is for people without symptoms, so if anyone spots something that isn’t right for them, they should speak to their GP. It probably won’t be cancer, but if it is, finding it early can make a real difference.’
