The authors of this article assert that Australia’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) has the potential to prevent almost 84,000 bowel cancer deaths if 60% program participation rates could be reached and maintained over the next two decades.

This study concludes that the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) accounts for a modest fraction of colonoscopy use in Australia, and suggests that promoting adherence to guideline-recommended immunochemical faecal occult blood tests (iFOBT) and colonoscopy use could ease pressure on services and improve outcomes.