The rate of people dying from bowel cancer in the UK has dropped by more than 30% in the last 20 years, according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.
Bowel cancer was responsible for 38 deaths per 100,000 people in 1995, falling to 26 deaths per 100,000 people by 2015. The drop in rates, taking into account changing population figures, equates to a decrease in bowel cancer deaths from 17,600 in 1995 to 15,800 in 2015.
Experts believe better treatment lies behind the dramatic drop in deaths. Improved public awareness among both patients and doctors, the bowel screening programme, may also be playing a part.
However, while the disease’s mortality rates continue to decline, bowel cancer is still the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK – accounting for 10% of all cancer deaths.
Most patients are aged 50 or over when diagnosed with bowel cancer. Around half of these cases are preventable. One of the best ways to reduce the risk of the disease is to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle by cutting down on red and processed meat, keeping a healthy weight, not smoking and keeping active.
In 2014, almost 41,300 people were diagnosed with bowel cancer of whom 22,844 were men and 18,421 women. Latest figures show that 8,613 men and 7,152 women died from bowel cancer in 2015.
Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK said: “The increasing number of people surviving bowel cancer today shows how vital research has improved the treatment of the disease over the years.”
Sharp added: “This positive trend is set to continue as new and improved bowel screening is rolled out nationwide, which can detect the early signs of cancer before symptoms develop. Together all these improvements will continue to have a real impact on tackling this disease.”
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