A NEW survey has revealed that many bowel cancer patients in the UK face a lack of choice when being treated in the advanced stages of the disease.

The results of survey by charity Bowel Cancer UK have been published as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

About 9,000 people a year are diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer in the UK.

The survey of 100 patients highlighted a number of worrying issues, including major differences - in what treatments were available to patients across the UK; in treatment options for NHS and private patients; and in GPs attitudes to men and women when they presented with symptoms.

Most worryingly of all, the survey found that few patients were being offered access to combination chemotherapy – the standard first-line treatment for patients with advanced bowel cancer.

Combination chemotherapy can extend life by more than 19 months, and was recommended for use in advanced bowel cancer by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in August 2005.1

Some of the survey’s key findings:

* Only 25 per cent of bowel cancer patients had their treatment choices explained to them by their clinicians and were involved in deciding what treatment they were given

* Women were less likely to have their symptoms acted on by GPs when they initially saw them. It also took longer for women to be referred to a specialist

* One in five NHS patients surveyed had to wait more than month for treatment compared to 100% of private patients who were treated within the first four weeks of seeing their GP

* Patients in London were less likely to be offered combination chemotherapy than patients in the North West

* Patients over 60 were less likely to be offered combination chemotherapy than younger patients

Neil Brookes, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: “Our survey shows that there is still a very patchy picture for bowel cancer patients across the UK, with significant variations in standards of treatment and care.

"All patients should be given access to the treatments that are best for them, regardless of their age, gender and postcode and it is inexcusable that for many people this still isn’t the case.”

Dr Rob Glynne-Jones, chief medical adviser to Bowel Cancer UK, said: “It is vital that patients who would benefit from combination chemotherapy treatments are given access to them, so they can have the best chance of combating the disease.

“Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) and Irinotecan (Campto), used in combination with 5FU, are the standard first-line treatments for patients in the advanced stages of bowel cancer and are widely used across Europe and in the United States.

"Routine access to these drugs is proven to extend survival without compromising quality of life and now that they are NICE approved, UK patients must be given access to them.”

Neil Brookes added: “NICE is increasingly calling for treatment decisions to be made jointly by patients and their clinicians but our evidence shows that in three out of four cases patients are still not being given the option of being involved in their treatments choices.

“Bowel cancer patients have the same right to treatments that offer them their best chance of survival as patients with other conditions and in other countries.

"We will continue to highlight the inequalities around the disease in the UK; seek to improve patients’ treatment options; and raise awareness of the symptoms people need to watch out for."