A major NHS England funded study is expected almost to halve the number of invasive procedures by 2020 by improving the accuracy of home-testing kits that detect bowel cancer from invisible amounts of blood.
This could mean more than 100,000 NHS patients in England avoid the need for uncomfortable colonoscopies each year by first getting a reliable all clear from a simple at-home test.
It could also save the NHS millions, as each colonoscopy costs the NHS £372 compared to about £5 for the new tests.