The best evidence that we have about the effectiveness and harms of breast screening comes from a large review done independent of the breast screening industry – with a patient information booklet available here – which states that It may be reasonable to attend for breast cancer screening with mammography, but it may also be reasonable […]
Continue Reading →Is CT screening for lung cancer a good idea?
Lots of media coverage would say that it is: the Independent puts it: “Screening heavy smokers with low-dose computer tomography (CT) instead of X-rays can reduce deaths from lung cancer by 20 percent, a massive US study released Thursday shows. Previous studies have shown that helical CT scanning can identify small tumors in the early stages […]
Continue Reading →Sense on genetic screening from the USA
Great to see some straight talking common sense from the US. Just because you can have your genome dissected, doesn’t mean you should pay a few hundred pounds for your ‘genetic risk assessment’ as several UK and US websites currently offer. These tests may need FDA approval, says this piece from the New England Journal of […]
Continue Reading →The scandal of poor diagnosis in dementia that’s not
New research is a ‘wake up call’ for GPs- at least, according to Professor Steven Field, who is quoted today in the Telegraph as saying that doctors are needing more training in recognising dementia symptoms. The paper is in the BMJ, here, and I am rather amazed at the conclusions that both Field and the […]
Continue Reading →Radiation and risk
The NEJM carries a concerning article: a woman having a CT of head was exposed, accidentally, to a radiation overdose. She became unwell afterwards, and she’s suing. However the article also points out that new imaging techniques, getting more information about brain structures and blood flow mean that radiation doses from scans can now be […]
Continue Reading →Angela Raffle on the problems with screening
..in Clinical Evidence. And I’m so chuffed to be name checked…
Continue Reading →The first false positives….
False positives are one of the many banes of screening programmes. In the US, advertising for people to come to private clinics for expensive CT scans, to screen people for lung cancer is common and, of course, legal. Here in the UK, several private companies advertise their services despite COMARE saying that “we have strongly […]
Continue Reading →The fashion for genes
Over the past few weeks, I have been offered massages, gym visits, vitamin supplements, make-up tips and consultations with cosmetic surgeons. All these generous invitations came from PR companies keen to create a media glow for their clients’ products. Since an awful lot of column inches seem to be devoted to genome testing at the […]
Continue Reading →Screening for ovarian cancer: the pros and cons
There has been much press coverage of The Lancet Oncology’s paper this week on screening for ovarian cancer. Screening – looking for disease before a person has symptoms that suggest the disease – is often harder than it seems, thanks to the myriad problems it can create. That’s not to say that screening shouldn’t be […]
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