Bowel cancer rates after colonoscopy vary by provider

A colonoscopy is the main test used to detect bowel cancer, but like most tests, it is not always 100% accurate and cancers can be missed.

New research led by the University of Leeds looked at the number of patients whose colonoscopy found no evidence of bowel cancer, but who were subsequently diagnosed with the disease.

They found that overall the rate of these post-colonoscopy bowel cancers decreased in England. However, they found that the rates of these potentially missed cancers were lower for colonoscopies performed by the NHS than those performed by independent providers on behalf of the NHS.

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