title: Screening for cancer: when to stop?: A practical guide and review of the evidence.
abstract: Deciding when to stop cancer screening in older adults is a complex challenge that involves multiple factors: individual health status and life expectancy; risks and benefits of screening, which vary with age and comorbidity; and individual preferences and values. This article examines current cancer screening practices and reviews the risks and benefits of cancer screening for colorectal, breast, lung, prostate, and cervical cancer, particularly in older individuals and those with multiple comorbidities. Tools for estimating life expectancy are reviewed, and a practical framework is presented to guide discussions on when the harms of screening likely outweigh the benefits.
authors.affiliation: General Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency Core Faculty, Virginia Mason Medical Center, 1100 Ninth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, USA. Electronic address: michael.soung@vmmc.org.
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Soung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: Breast cancer; Cancer screening; Cervical cancer; Colorectal cancer; Elderly; Life expectancy; Lung cancer; Prostate cancer