Irish bowel cancer hotspots revealed

The Irish Cancer Society is revealing the counties in Ireland which have a high bowel cancer incidence rate as it launches Bowel Cancer Awareness month which takes place in April.

Cork has the highest rate of bowel cancer across Ireland and the Society is urging people in Cork and the other bowel cancer ‘hotspots’ to reduce their risk of bowel cancer by making some small lifestyle changes.

According to data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland, Cork has the highest rate of bowel cancer in Ireland with an incidence rate of 57.9 per 100,000 per year. This is closely followed by Leitrim (rate of 56.39), Louth (rate of 54.97), Dublin North (rate of 54.49) and Westmeath (rate of 54.23). The high levels of bowel cancer incidence in certain parts of the country could be due to lifestyle or genetic factors. The Irish Cancer Society is encouraging people in these counties, who may be at a higher risk, to review their lifestyle to see if they can make healthier choices to reduce their risk.

Research has found that adults who increase their physical activity and have a healthy diet can reduce their risk of developing bowel cancer by 30 to 40 per cent*. Currently, over one third of the over 50s in Ireland are obese, a further 44 per cent are overweight and about one third of the over 50s report low levels of physical activity.** It is estimated that 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day offers the best protection against bowel cancer***.

Physical activity affects the risk of bowel cancer in a number of ways: 1) it leads to regular bowel movements and may therefore reduce the time the bowel is exposed to potential cancer-causing substances 2) it reduces inflammation of the bowel which might otherwise increase bowel cancer risk and 3) it reduces the amount of insulin and some other hormones in your body which at high levels can encourage the growth of cancer cells.

Aside from increasing their levels of physical activity, members of the public are reminded to be aware of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer (see below). Bowel cancer which is detected in early stage is treatable and patients can have positive outcomes. Finally, people between the ages of 60 and 69 can also take part in the national bowel screening programme called BowelScreen.

Joan Kelly, Nursing Services Manager at the Irish Cancer Society said: “We are seeing high levels of bowel cancer incidence in some parts of the country. This could be due to lifestyle factors or genetic reasons. We are reminding people in these areas to reduce their risk of bowel cancer by making some simple lifestyle changes. It is also vital that the public remain aware of bowel cancer signs and symptoms and visit their GP if they are concerned.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in Ireland. Each year around 2,000 people in Ireland are diagnosed with bowel cancer and 900 people die from it. One of the reasons for this is that more than half of people with bowel cancer are diagnosed in the later stages of the disease which means that they require more complex treatment and have a poorer chance of survival. The good news is that bowel cancer is treatable if caught in time and screening helps detect bowel cancer at an early stage.”

BowelScreen, a government funded service delivered by the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS), invites people within this age group, via a letter to their homes, to take part in the programme. Men and women who are called for screening and who are willing to take part in the screening programme are sent a home test kit called FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) in the post. This test detects tiny traces of blood in the stool which can indicate that further tests are needed.

Test results are expected to be normal for more than 9 in 10 participants and these people will be invited for routine screening again in two years. About 5 in 100 people will receive an abnormal result and will need an additional test. They will be referred to the hospital for a screening colonoscopy to determine any abnormality in the bowel. In time the BowelScreen programme will be extended to those aged 55 to 74.

Last year, the Irish Cancer Society donated €1 million to BowelScreen which will be used to purchase equipment in hospitals around Ireland and support the continued rollout of the bowel cancer screening programme. Anyone who is concerned about cancer can contact the Irish Cancer Society’s National Cancer Helpline on 1800 200 700 to speak to a specialist cancer nurse who can offer information and support.

The Irish Cancer Society is working towards a future without cancer and we won’t give up until cancer does.

Find out more

• What is bowel cancer?
• Bowel cancer symptoms and diagnosis
• Bowel cancer causes and prevention
• What we know about diet and bowel cancer
• What we know about body weight and bowel cancer
• What we know about physical activity and bowel cancer
• The five fundamentals of healthy eating

References

*IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention. Weight Control and Physical Activity. Vol. 6. 2002

** The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) . The Over 50s in a Changing Ireland, 2014.

***Lee I, Oguma Y. Physical activity. In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni JF, editors. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006