News • May 30, 2025

Bowel cancer screening program – who, why and how

Øystein Sørdal

Specialist in internal medicine, digestive and liver diseases, PhD

Bowel cancer – one of the most common forms of cancer in Norway

Bowel cancer is the second most common form of cancer in Norway and affects both women and men. In 2023, over 3500 Norwegians colon cancer and around 1300 got rectal cancer¹. There is also a clear increase in incidence in people under 50 years of age, and Norway is among the countries in the world with the fastest increase in this age group.² Younger patients with bowel cancer often have more aggressive disease at the time of diagnosis.²

Survival from bowel cancer is closely linked to how early the cancer is detected. If the disease is detected before it has spread, the 5-year survival rate is 80-95%, while when it spreads to other organs, survival drops to around 20%¹.

National screening-
bowel cancer program

To detect bowel cancer earlier and reduce mortality, Norway has introduced a national screening program for bowel cancer³. The program was launched in 2022 and is being gradually rolled out across the country.

Who is offered screening?

All women and men of all ages 55–65 years are offered screening. Initially, this involves a stool test (FIT test) which is analyzed for blood – a possible sign of polyps or cancer³.

What happens afterwards?

If the stool sample is positive, you will be referred to koloskopi for further investigation³. This provides the opportunity to remove any polyps before they develop into cancer, or detect cancer early when the chances of survival are best.

Participating in the screening program can reduce the risk of bowel cancer by up to 25%⁴.

What about those of you who are under 55?

Although the screening program starts at age 55, it is important to be aware of symptoms and familial risk of bowel cancer – even for younger people.² Do you have:

Blood in the stool

Change in stool pattern

... then you should be referred or come directly to a colonoscopy. If you have concerns about intestinal polyps or serious intestinal disease, a colonoscopy can clarify this and a single examination means that in most cases you can be confident that if you do not discover polyps in the intestine, you are safe for many years to come.

Several countries start screening at the age of 50 and some countries also at the age of 45 precisely to detect polyps and early cancer in the younger group as well, and this can be argued as there is an increase in the number of cases in this group.

Get a colonoscopy at Medicus – fast, safe and gentle

At Medicus we offer colonoscopy in Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim – performed by experienced gastroenterologists with state-of-the-art equipment, including AI technology for better polyp detection. We emphasize high quality, documented in Gastronet¹, and gentle examination with minimal discomfort.

You do not need a referral to book an appointment with us.

Colonoscopy without waiting time

With us you can get an appointment for a colonoscopy without a referral and waiting time.

make an appointment

Sources

National Quality Registry for Colorectal Cancer, Annual Report 2023, Cancer Registry: https://www.kreftregisteret.no/Registrene/Kvalitetsregistrene/Tykk-ogendetarmskreftregisteret
Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association, 2025: Increasing incidence of bowel cancer among those under 50 years of age: https://tidsskriftet.no/2025/03/fra-andre-tidsskrifter/okende-forekomst-av-tarmkreft-blant-dem-under-50-ar

Norwegian Directorate of Health. National Action Program for Colorectal Cancer: https://www.helsedirektoratet.no/retningslinjer/kreft-i-tykktarm-og-endetarm-handlingsprogram

The Norwegian Cancer Society: Bowel screening program: https://kreftforeningen.no/forebygging/screening-og-masseundersokelser/tarmscreeningprogrammet/

COMMENTS · 2

Write a comment

Rune Jan 09, 2026

Everyone between 55-75 is offered bowel cancer screening, you say. This differs from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health which says 55-65.... I am 66 and how do I join?

1 answer SVAR
- Magnus Finset Sørdal Jan 19, 2026
  
  Hi! You are right, we have made a typo here. The upper age limit for invitations is 65 years and we have corrected it now! It also takes some time before everyone has received an invitation, as you can read here., so if you were 65 when it started, that may be the reason why you haven't received an invitation. You can ask your GP, but from what I can read, it seems that a private examination may be the only option if you don't have symptoms that make your GP refer and the hospital prioritize. This can be booked with us here.
  
  SVAR

Bowel cancer screening program – who, why and how

Bowel cancer – one of the most common forms of cancer in Norway

National screening-bowel cancer program

Who is offered screening?

What happens afterwards?

What about those of you who are under 55?

Get a colonoscopy at Medicus – fast, safe and gentle

Colonoscopy without waiting time

Sources

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