Bowel cancer remains the second most common cause of cancer deaths and the second leading cause of cancer burden in Australia after lung cancer.

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimated 4,114 bowel cancer deaths in 2017 – outnumbering both breast (3,087) and prostate cancer (3,452) deaths.

According to Cancer in Australia 2017, five-year survival for bowel cancer was well below prostate cancer (68.1 v 94.5%) and breast cancer (69.4 v 90.2%).

The report showed substantial room for improvement in early detection with the bowel cancer screening rate of 39% lagging behind breast cancer screening (54%) and cervical cancer screening (57%).

To read the full report click here.