Australian bowel cancer screening age should drop from 50 to 45 years old, medical research authority says

Research council endorses lowering age of screening in clinical practice guidelines, a position advocated by Bowel Cancer Australia for years

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Australians as young as 45 should be screened for bowel cancer, according to new guidelines from Australia's peak body for medical research.

With rates of bowel cancer in people under 50 rising, the National Health and Medical Research Council has endorsed lowering the age at which bowel cancer screening starts from 50 to 45 in its clinical practice guidelines, a position advocated by Bowel Cancer Australia for the past five years.

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