The National Bowel Cancer Audit (NBOCA), which is part of the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN), has published a report on care received by people with bowel cancer in England and Wales, focusing on those diagnosed between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.
The proportion diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 bowel cancer in England and Wales has remained relatively static
A key ambition of the NHS Long Term Plan cancer strategy for England is that by 2028, 75% of people with cancer will be diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 disease. This report finds that the proportion diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 bowel cancer in England and Wales has remained relatively static at 40% in 2022/23, compared to 37% in 2018/19.
In addition to further findings related to the characteristics of people with bowel cancer, this report contains key findings relating to quality improvement, improving oncological management and Stage 4 disease, and improving the diagnostic pathway and peri-operative care. For example, in peri-operative care, there was a decrease in the percentage of people who died within 90 days of surgery (3.4% in 2018/19, compared to 2.7% in 2022/23).
The report includes five recommendations to support quality improvement:
- Improve data completeness of key items in national cancer registration datasets to allow risk adjustment of performance indicators
- Increase the proportion of people who are offered mismatch repair (MMR) assessment to identify those with Lynch syndrome and inform surgical decision making, and systemic treatments
- Increase the proportion of people who have their ileostomy closed within 18-months of anterior resection for rectal cancer
- Reduce variation between trusts/MDTs in the use of chemotherapy for people with Stage 3 colon cancer
- Understand variation in the utilisation of neo-adjuvant radiotherapy for people with rectal cancer to optimise outcomes.
Read the full report: You can see all key findings and read the report in full by clicking on the link below.
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