Bowel cancer patients should begin treatment within four days of diagnosis – or risk cutting their chances of survival by a third, new research suggests.
Meanwhile, those who wait more than a month and a half to start a regimen – which usually involves surgery and chemotherapy – are 55 per cent more likely to see their cancer spread, compared to those who are seen immediately.
The researchers, from the Indiana University School of Medicine, also found that delays are particularly risky for those who need chemotherapy to shrink tumours prior to surgery.
When spotted at early stages, 93 per cent of bowel cancer patients will survive at least five years. This figure drops to 59 per cent if the disease is caught at later stages.
In England, NHS patients must begin treatment for cancer within two months of diagnosis, as per Government targets.
However the latest figures show this goal is only met for around 70 per cent of patients.
The latest data comes amid what’s been termed an ‘explosion’ in bowel cancer cases among young people.
More than 2,400 people under 50 are now diagnosed annually in the UK – an increase of around 25 per cent over the past decade.
Delays to bowel cancer treatment even of just four days may significantly increase the risk of the disease spreading, a study suggests
Meanwhile, in the US, the disease became the biggest cancer killer of young people earlier this year.
Recent studies estimate bowel cancer mortality rates for under-50s in the UK could jump by 39 per cent for women and 26 per cent for men.
Bowel cancer – also known as colorectal cancer – is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with more than 48,000 people diagnosed and 17,700 deaths each year.
But like most cancers, it tends to react well when treated early.
The latest study aimed to analyse how delays to treatment affected how the cancer spreads – which can drastically reduce survival rates.
Metastatic bowel cancer, or stage four disease most commonly means the disease has spread to the liver, lungs or abdomen, and is harder to treat.
Researchers analysed data from 11,927 US adults aged over 40 with newly diagnosed bowel cancer that had not already spread.
Participants had an average age of 70 and all underwent surgery intended to cure their cancer.
Overall 12.1 per cent of patients developed metastatic disease within three years.
Most patients needed surgery and chemotherapy to destroy the cancer – the typical treatment.
Compared with patients who began this combination within three days of diagnosis, patients who were delayed by four to 46 days had a 27 per cent higher risk of the disease metastasising.
Delays of 47 days or more, meanwhile, were associated with a 55 per cent higher risk.
Among patients who received neoadjuvant therapy – when chemotherapy is given before surgery – waiting 68 days or longer to begin treatment was linked to almost treble the risk of metastasis.
The researchers – who conducted their study on US patients with health insurance – said it’s likely that if patients aren’t seen immediately, they may fall through the gaps, and perhaps be subjected to ‘fragmented’ care.
It’s unlikely that the discrepancy is the result of a ‘literal biological timeline’ for treating the disease, the experts added.
Patients must be ensured ‘prompt access to treatment’ in order to boost survival from the deadly disease.
Bowel cancer is Britain’s second-most common cause of cancer death behind lung cancer.
Overall, just over half of bowel cancer patients are expected to be alive 10 years after their diagnosis.
Cancer Research UK estimates that more than half – 54 per cent – of bowel cancer cases are preventable.
Experts say incorporating a healthy diet, reducing body weight, exercising more, and cutting back on alcohol and smoking are all lifestyle choices that can reduce risk.
Symptoms of the disease can include changes in bowel habits, such as looser stools, unusual diarrhoea or constipation.
Needing to use the toilet more often, finding red or black blood in the stool, or bleeding from the back passage are also warning signs.
Other possible symptoms include stomach pain, bloating, a lump in the stomach, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, or shortness of breath – signs that may indicate anaemia caused by bowel cancer.
