LONDON (Reuters) - Screening and on-the-spot treatment for early signs of disease could cut the number of bowel cancer cases and deaths by as much as 40% in older people, researchers said on Friday.

Bowel cancer, one of the most common cancers, often develops over a number of years from small growths called polyps.

When scientists from Britain's Cancer Research UK charity tested a new screening technique that uses a tiny camera to detect polyps, which are then removed, they found it could prevent about 5,000 cases of the disease in Britain each year.

"Unlike some tests for bowel cancer, our system doesn't just detect cancer at an early stage, it can uncover growths before they've become cancerous," said Dr. Wendy Atkin, who headed the research team.

"And because it takes so long to go from the polyp stage to full blown cancer, a single bowel examination should offer protection from the disease for up to 10 years afterwards," she added in a statement.

Atkin tested the technique on 170,000 men and women aged 55-64. Half were randomly selected for screening with the flexible sigmoidoscope, a long, thin tube with a miniature camera that is inserted into the lower part of the bowel.

The remainder were not screened and acted as a control group. A small percentage of people who were screened said the procedure was painful. The researchers detected cancer in three people per thousand screened. At least 60% had an early stage cancer, which is the easiest to treat and the most curable.

Atkin and her team plan to follow up the people in the study to determine the long-term benefits of the technique. But based on their detection rate they estimate it could reduce the incidence of the disease and deaths in the target age group.

"Using a miniature camera to screen for bowel cancer is relatively simple and easy to administer, and I believe it could work very well as part of a national screening program," said Atkin.

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