JAMA Review on Mammography Points to the Need for Better Ways to Advise Women and Detect Breast Cancer

This new JAMA article reviews the literature. At a glance, it may add to the growing perception among journalists, primary care physicians and others – including ordinary women – that mammography’s effectiveness has been, again, disproved.

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More on Mammography, Breast Cancer, Misleading Arguments, Emotion and Women’s Health

While therapy has improved quite a bit since 1985, the greatest benefit derives from most women avoiding the need for life-long treatment by having small tumors found and removed before they’ve spread.

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Don’t Blur the Message on Cancer Screening

I hope this week’s headlines and editorials don’t add to the blurriness of the public’s perception of cancer screening – that people might begin to think it’s a bad thing all around. The details matter….screening if it’s done right can save lives and dollars. That’s because for most tumor types, treating advanced, metastatic disease is costlier than treatment of early-stage, curable tumors.

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A Closer Look at the Details on Mammography, in Between the Lines

A seemingly slight adjustment in a statistic, for teaching purposes, can significantly change a test’s calculated value….

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New Article on Mammography Spawns False Hope That Breast Cancer is Not a Dangerous Disease

Few forms of invasive breast cancer warrant no treatment unless the patient is so old that she is likely to die first of another condition, or the patient prefers to die of the disease….“Mammograms Spot Cancers That May Not Be Dangerous,” said WebMD, yesterday. This is feel-good news, and largely wishful.

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer screening, Communication, Diagnosis, Essential Lessons, journalism, Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Women's HealthTagged , , , , , 6 Comments on New Article on Mammography Spawns False Hope That Breast Cancer is Not a Dangerous Disease

What Does it Mean if Primary Care Doctors Get the Answers Wrong About Screening Stats?

The new findings have no bearing on whether or not cancer screening is cost-effective or life-saving. What the study does suggest is that med school math requirements should be upped and rigorous, counter to the trend

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New Studies on Colon Cancer Screening by Colonoscopy and Fecal Blood Testing

My take is that periodic colonoscopy has the potential to halve the number of deaths from colon cancer in the general population…As to how colonoscopy relates to fecal blood testing as a screening method at the population level, and the optimal start and frequency of either test, those remain uncertain.

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Cervical Cancer Screening Update: on Pap Smears, Liquid-based Cytology and HPV

The latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine contains 2 noteworthy papers on cervical cancer screening. The first, a systematic review of studies commissioned by the USPSTF, looked at 3 methods for evaluating abnormalities in women over 30 years: 1. Conventional cytology (as in a Pap smear; the cervix is scraped and cells splayed […]

Posted in cancer causes, cancer diagnosis, cancer screening, Oncology (cancer), Under the Radar, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments on Cervical Cancer Screening Update: on Pap Smears, Liquid-based Cytology and HPV

Mammograms Could Save More Lives Than You Might Think

Some of the more understandable discussion comes from women with metastatic disease whose tumors were missed by screening mammography. Notably, neither paper quotes an oncologist.

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3 Differences between Prostate and Breast Cancer Screening

Days ago, the USPSTF issued a new draft for its recommendations on routine PSA measurements in asymptomatic men. The panel’s report is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The main findings are two: first, the absence of evidence that routine PSA testing prolongs men’s lives, and second, that PSA evaluation may, on balance, cause […]

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