title: CaDet, a computer-based clinical decision support system for early cancer detection.
abstract: Cancer risk evaluation and early detection are subject to serious limitations mainly related to human factors and to characteristics of the data involved. To help overcome these problems, a computer-based system was designed to provide the physician with a clearer clinical picture and aid in directing patients to appropriate measures. Clinical and epidemiological data related to early cancer detection and to cancer risk factors was collected from the literature and incorporated in a database, together with heuristic rules for evaluating this data. Individual data obtained from patients through a questionnaire are input into CaDet, a computerized clinical decision support system. A report summarizing patient data and cancer hypotheses, with a scoring system that reflects degrees of alarm, is generated. The CaDet system, as well as some preliminary results of the clinical experience accumulated in its use, are described. These preliminary results suggest that the approach may be useful in improving cancer risk assessment and screening in primary care setups.
authors.affiliation: Beeri Community Health Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Topilsky
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inbar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D003658:Decision Making, Computer-Assisted; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires