Men are more likely than women to take up invitations for bowel screening, according to a large Cancer Research UK study published in the current issue of the Journal of Medical Screening.

Almost 8,000 men and women aged 55 to 64 were sent questionnaires asking about attitudes about bowel screening six months before a flexible sigmoidoscopy screening appointment.

Of those, around 70% completed the questionnaire and turned up for their appointment.

However the gender mix was unequal, with 73% of the men turning up but only 67% of the women.

Lead author Jane Wardle said women were more worried than men about the test being embarrassing or humiliating. “This is surprising given that women are assumed to be more familiar with medical procedures,” she pointed out.

She added in a statement that research was underway to discover whether women would be less embarrassed, and so more likely to attend the screening, if female doctors carried out the test.

The findings come as Britain prepares to launch a national screening programme for bowel cancer next year. People over 60 will be screened using the faecal occult blood test followed, if necessary, by colonoscopy to look for early cancers and polyps.

SOURCE: J Med Screen 2005;12:20-27.