Uptake of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is slowly improving with more than four in five participants returning to screen again at the next opportunity.
Latest figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed an estimated 6941 new cases of bowel cancer were diagnosed in Australians aged 50 to 74 in 2025 — almost half (47 per cent) of all bowel cancer diagnoses.
About 6.4 million Australians were invited to screen for bowel cancer through the program in the two years between January 2023 and December 2024.
Of those, nearly 2.7 million (42 per cent) participated. More than four in five (83.5 per cent) people returned to the program to screen again at the next opportunity.
“The latest screening results reinforce the importance of regular screening, with early detection leading to significantly better outcomes,” AIHW spokeswoman Moira Hewitt said.
“Regular screening every two years is important for finding changes early so it’s encouraging to see such a high proportion of people returning to get screened again.”
Among participants, 73,724 people had a positive screening result, representing a 5.8 per cent screening positivity rate.
Of those, 85 percent reported having a follow-up diagnostic assessment. One in 29 were found to have confirmed or suspected bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer for Australians of any age.
The NBCSP, in force since 2006, mails screening kits to people aged 50 to 74 every two years in a bid to improve early detection of bowel cancer.
Since July 2024, people aged 45 to 49 can also request a screening kit from the National Cancer Screening Register.
Of the 236,421 screening kits requested by people aged 45 to 49, more than half (56.2 per cent) participated.
Almost five per cent (4.7 per cent) returned a positive screening result requiring further assessment.
Regular screening can also help identify potentially pre-cancerous abnormalities that can be treated at diagnostic assessment to prevent them from developing into bowel cancer.
Since the NBCSP began in August 2006, 17,378 bowel cancers have been detected through the program.
More than 17,000 bowel cancers have been detected through the program since its inception, with mortality rates also declining among the targeted age group.
There were an estimated 1779 bowel cancer deaths in people aged 50 to 74 in 2025, about a third (34 per cent) of all bowel cancer deaths.
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