Interval Cancers in the Bowel Screening Pilot – Preliminary Report FIT negative

The report provides a preliminary analysis of interval cancers from the Bowel Screening Pilot (BSP) and early estimates of sensitivity. Interval cancers are cancers that are diagnosed between a negative (normal) screen and the time the next screen would have occurred. Sensitivity is the proportion of cancers in the screened population that are identified through screening. This report is preliminary as it is restricted to the first four years of the BSP and solely refers to interval cancers and sensitivity relating to the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) part of the screening pathway. It is also preliminary as it does not include interval cancers diagnosed following a negative diagnostic test (colonoscopy or computed tomographic (CT)-colonoscopy) undertaken in response to a positive FIT. Neither does the report include the stage or sight of the interval cancers. The report has been produced to share the information gathered to date in the spirit of transparency and open communication. However, caution is advised in drawing any strong conclusions from analysis due in part to the restrictions noted above but more importantly because the number of cancers identified to date is small.