New £1.75M UK-wide research programme aims to improve early detection of bowel cancer
Published: 28 April 2026
Researchers in Northern Ireland and Scotland are leading a major new UK research programme designed to improve how doctors predict and prevent bowel cancer
Researchers in Scotland and Northern Ireland are leading a major new UK research programme designed to improve how doctors predict and prevent bowel cancer.
The £1.75 million, five-year study will investigate in unprecedented detail how bowel cancer develops from early precancerous growths known as polyps and is funded by Cancer Research UK and the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.
The study will be jointly led by Professor Joanne Edwards and Dr Stephen McSorley, from the University of Glasgow School of Cancer Sciences, Dr Philip Dunne from the Johnston Centre for Cancer Research at Queen's University Belfast, as well as leading cancer evolution research collaborator Professor Trevor Graham at the Institute of Cancer Research in London.
The team hope their findings will help inform future screening and surveillance strategies, enabling better personalised approaches to bowel cancer prevention and reducing unnecessary procedures for patients.
As well as improving understanding of the earliest stages of bowel cancer development, the programme will also create a major research resource that can be used by scientists around the world to accelerate discoveries in cancer prevention.
Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with more than 40,000 people diagnosed every year. Most bowel cancers develop slowly over time from small growths in the lining of the bowel called polyps.
Through the national Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed each year with polyps during routine screening tests and colonoscopy procedures. While many polyps remain harmless, some can develop into cancer if they are not removed or monitored carefully.
Doctors currently rely largely on polyp size and appearance to estimate future risk, but these methods are not always accurate. Given these limited tools, it remains difficult to predict which patients are most likely to develop further high-risk polyps or bowel cancer in the future.
Professor Joanne Edwards, co-lead on the project from the University of Glasgow’s School of Cancer Sciences, said: “By better predicting who is likely to go on to get polyps or bowel cancer in the future, this work will help participants in bowel screening and patients undergoing bowel surveillance by identifying those who do and do not need more colonoscopy tests.”
Dr Stephen McSorley, co-lead on the project from the University of Glasgow’s School of Cancer Sciences, added: “We hope that eventually our results will also help clinicians who look after these groups of people to make better decisions about the need for future procedures and so reduce the burden of surveillance on endoscopy waiting lists and the wider health service without compromising patient care.”
Dr Philip Dunne, co-lead on the project from the Johnston Centre for Cancer Research at Queen’s University Belfast, explains: “Bowel cancer often develops over many years, and polyps give us a crucial opportunity to intervene before cancer ever forms. The difficulty is that not all polyps behave the same way, and we currently lack reliable tools to distinguish those that signal higher risk.
“This programme brings together expertise from across the UK to study polyps at a scale and depth that hasn’t been possible before. By combining molecular biology, pathology and advanced data analysis, we hope to develop better ways to predict which patients need closer monitoring and which can be reassured, without the need for invasive tests.”
To carry out the study, the researchers will analyse thousands of polyp samples using advanced molecular technologies to understand why some lesions progress towards cancer while others do not.
Claire Knight, Senior Health Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Bowel screening provides an important opportunity for early detection of bowel cancer and precancerous polyps.
“But currently, we don’t always know which patients are most at risk of developing high-risk polyps or cancer in the future.
“This exciting programme will allow researchers to study these polyps in far greater detail than has been possible before with the goal of developing better ways to predict bowel cancer risk and ultimately improve outcomes for patients.”
The Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, was set up to continue the inspiring legacy of Dame Deborah James, by helping to fund vital research and health awareness projects that would help give more people affected by cancer more time with the people they love.
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 28 April 2026