We’ve recently measured our rate of post-colonoscopy bowel cancers (PCCRC) in BowelScreen.
What is a PCCRC in BowelScreen?
This is a bowel cancer that is diagnosed within 36 months (3 years) of a person’s last BowelScreen colonoscopy, that was reported as a negative colonoscopy where no abnormality was found, or a polyp was removed.
Why is it important to measure the PCCRC rate?
PCCRCs happen in every bowel screening programme in the world. Measuring the PCCRC rate assures us of the quality of our BowelScreen programme. It’s one part of a system of internationally accepted measurements of how well we are performing against our quality standards.
This helps us to better inform people about the benefits and limitations of bowel screening, so they can make an informed choice about taking part in screening.
What is an acceptable PCCRC rate?
Our standards for quality assurance in bowel screening are based on international guidelines. These tell us that the PCCRC rate should be between 2.5% and 8.5%.
What is our PCCRC rate for BowelScreen?
Our PCCRC rate for BowelScreen is 4.3%. This is a good result, within our programme’s standards for quality assurance. This tells us that our programme is performing well.
How did we calculate it?
We worked with the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) to develop a clear and detailed protocol for the safe and accurate exchange of data in compliance with the legislation.
The NCRI records the number of new cases of bowel cancer. We sent details of BowelScreen participants who had a colonoscopy during the period 2012 to 2017 to the NCRI. They matched the BowelScreen participants who did not have a cancer detected at colonoscopy against the people on their database who had developed bowel cancer in the 36 months following a BowelScreen colonoscopy. We did the calculations and the NCRI acted as our expert checker to confirm them.
What happens next?
We’ll continue to work with the NCRI to examine the PCCRC rate at intervals, as part of our quality assurance standards.