Lay summary
Cancers of the stomach and bowels are common in New Zealand. People treated for these do worse compared to other countries.
Endoscopy, which is a camera test of the stomach or bowel, is the best way to find these cancers. However, up to one in four people who have previously had an endoscopy will be found to have a cancer later on.
A programme in the United Kingdom led to an improvement in the number of missed cancers during endoscopy. This meant people are more likely to live longer. Data on the rate of post endoscopy cancers is not available in New Zealand.
We plan to perform research across New Zealand to understand how many cancers are potentially missed during endoscopy. This will allow us to more effectively design ways to improve the rate of missed cancers, inform further research into these method and assist in national quality improvement.