title: Quantitative approaches to clinical diagnosis of cancer in elderly patients.
abstract: Recommendations for cancer detection in the elderly are based on even less evidence of efficacy than are recommendations for the general adult population. In this article, we present some quantitative measures of test performance--operating characteristics, effectiveness and cost effectiveness/cost benefit--and show examples of how to use these measures to adjust diagnostic strategies for factors especially relevant to the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Feussner
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Simel
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Matchar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003662:Decision Theory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests