Male bowel cancer rates rise over a quarter

Bowel cancer rates among men have increased by almost 30 per cent in the last 35 years, a new report shows.

A study from Cancer Research UK found that, in comparison, women have seen a rise of just six per cent, with the new statistics arriving as part of the Bobby Moore Fund for the organisation.

It has launched its Make Bobby Proud campaign for bowel cancer awareness month, which aims to give people more knowledge of the condition.

The rates have risen from 45 cases per 100,000 men in 1975-77 to 58 cases in 2008-10, marking an overall rise of 29 per cent.

On the other hand, among females, cases have only increased marginally from 35 to 37 per 100,000 in the same period.

The age group that has seen the largest rise in those diagnosed with the disease is people in their 60s and 70s, as over 23,000 are diagnosed every year, though the reasons behind this rise are unknown.

Professor Matthew Seymour, professor of gastrointestinal cancer medicine at the University of Leeds and director of the National Cancer Research Network said: “We know the risk of bowel cancer increases as we get older and, since we’re all living longer, it’s no surprise to see that the number of people getting the disease is rising.

"But when we look at these figures and take people’s age into account, we still see that the risk of bowel cancer has gone up in men in the last 35 years. It’s important to find out what’s behind the rise and what we can do about it."

Mr Seymour went on to say that research has led to huge improvements in bowel cancer survival over the last 40 years.

"It’s this research that’s led to better drugs to treat the disease, improved surgical techniques, the use of more radiotherapy and the introduction of bowel screening to spot the disease earlier, when it is most effectively treated," he continued.

Posted by Ben Evans