About us

The aim of the National Bowel Cancer Audit (NBOCA) is to measure the quality of care and outcomes of patients with bowel cancer in England and Wales.

The National Bowel Cancer Audit (NBOCA) aims to measure the quality and outcomes of care for patients diagnosed for the first time with bowel cancer in NHS hospitals in England and Wales, and so support colorectal units in the UK to improve the quality of the care received by patients. NBOCA has been a mandatory national audit since 2010. Since 2015 the scope of the Audit has been broadening, in particular to patients not undergoing surgery, and also earlier and later in the patient pathway.

NBOCA is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), funded by NHS England and the Welsh Government, and delivered jointly by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN), the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI).

The NBOCA forms part of the National Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit Programme alongside the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA). The National Gastrointestinal Cancer Audit Programme has an overarching Project Board team with representatives from both audits. Each audit has its own Clinical Advisory Group, Project Team and Patient and Carer Panel.

More information about NBOCA can be found below: