ASCEND2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
General practice endorsement in the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme: the ASCEND2 project
IRAS ID
181342
Contact name
Wendy/S Atkin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN11660314
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
12/LO/1396, ASCEND (preceding study) REC no.
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 11 days
Research summary
Bowel cancer is the second commonest cause of cancer death in the UK. Early diagnosis improves survival and in light of this the NHS established the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP). This Programme offers screening using a stool testing kit (the faecal occult blood test) to 60-74 year olds. Data from 2012 shows that only 53% of those offered screening take it up and that this varies from more than 60% in the most socially advantaged areas of the country to less than 35% in the most disadvantaged areas.
The ASCEND2 trial aims to increase uptake in the BCSP, and to reduce differences in uptake between the most and least socially advantaged groups, whilst ensuring that uptake does not decline in any socioeconomic (SE) group. The trial will test whether or not receiving an endorsement from your GP at the same time that you receive a kit as part of the BCSP is likely to increase uptake and/or reduce SE inequalities.
The main objective is to examine the effectiveness of adding a GP endorsement at the invitation stage that could reduce the SE gradient in uptake and could be easily built into current BCSP delivery system.
Individuals who are routinely invited for screening in the BCSP (60-74 years with a registered GP) will be allocated to receive a GP endorsement on randomly selected days within a pre-specified time-period, and they will be compared with people who are invited for screening but who do not receive the endorsement. The trial will last for 30 days and approximately 450,000 people will be recruited.
SE groups will be identified using Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile scores. IMD is freely available, and widely accepted and used, and it will therefore enable direct comparison of our results with other studies.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0561
Date of REC Opinion
7 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion