Screening for cancer: valuable or not?
Screening for cancer has become extremely common. The evidence supporting screening for breast, colon, and cervix cancer is strong, but it is unclear for skin cancer, problematic for prostate cancer, and ineffective for lung cancer. Despite the problems associated with many screening approaches for cancer, enthusiasm by the medical profession and the public remains high. The objective analysis for the major tumor types is presented in this review, but the ultimate decision on whether to be screened lies in the personal and societal arena of values.
Department of Internal Medicine, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California at Irvine, 101 The City Drive, Building 56, Room 215, Route 81, Orange, CA 92868, USA. flmeyske@msx.ndc.mc.uci.edu
Frank L
FL
Meyskens
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis