Bowel Cancer Check at Five Years Works as Well as Three, Trial Finds

The findings come from the EPoS II trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study looked at people who had high-risk adenomas (pre-cancerous growths in the bowel) removed during a colonoscopy (a camera examination of the large bowel). Researchers compared what happened when patients had their first surveillance colonoscopy at three years against those who waited five — and found no meaningful difference in colorectal cancer (bowel cancer) rates between the two groups.

The trial was a planned interim analysis, meaning this is a scheduled checkpoint within an ongoing randomised study rather than a final conclusion. But the results showed the five-year interval was noninferior — a statistical term meaning it performed no worse than the shorter gap.

That matters in practice. Colonoscopy waiting lists are under pressure across NHS services, and evidence that a longer surveillance gap is safe could ease demand without putting patients at greater risk. For anyone in Kent who has previously had adenomas removed, this kind of research informs how NHS gastroenterology teams schedule follow-up appointments — though individual timing is always decided by a clinician based on each patient’s results.

Do not adjust or delay any appointment without speaking to your care team first. If you have concerns about bowel symptoms — including blood in your stool, a persistent change in bowel habit, or unexplained weight loss — contact your GP or call NHS 111.

Key information

• Bowel symptoms or concerns: Contact your GP or call NHS 111 (available 24 hours a day)
• Emergencies: Call 999
• Follow-up appointments: Never cancel or postpone a surveillance colonoscopy without advice from your NHS care team
• Full trial results: Available via the New England Journal of Medicine (EPoS II trial)