Thousands of Australians have failed to undertake the recommended free screening for bowel cancer, with men the most likely to avoid the test, a new report shows.
This is despite bowel cancer being the second biggest cancer killer.
The federal government sends a free kit to eligible Australians turning 50, 55, 60 or 65.
But only a third of those who were sent a kit returned it for testing, according to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program monitoring report 2012-2013.
"Men are more likely to develop bowel cancer than women yet according to this report, they are less likely to participate in screening," said Bowel Cancer Australia chief executive Julien Wiggins.
Test kits were sent to 964,000 people, and about 333,000 returned a sample.
Of the tests that were returned, 7.5 per cent needed further investigations.
The program identified 404 confirmed or suspected bowel cancers in 2012-13.
A further 728 people were detected to have advanced bowel polyps with the potential to develop into cancer.
Bowel Cancer Australia encourages all Australians to screen for bowel cancer every one to two years from age 50.
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