Here are some of the references used in Women’s Hour today. There was not enough time to discuss the stats properly. What is crucial is the fact that there is a lot of guess work – there has (shockingly) never been a proper RCT of cervical screening in normal risk women. So all estimates […]
BMJ – private screening clinics are not regulated well enough
Free link to BMJ article sorry, it’s here!
New things – Inside Health and screening
My favourite subject – screening. There’s a column on Inside Health about it, as well as a feature on private companies who offer screening for aortic aneurysms. The references I used are here http://www.annals.org/content/152/8/505.full?aimhp http://www.scielo.org.ar/pdf/rac/v76n2/en_v76n2a20.pdf http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK33513/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK33507/ http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD001923/carotid-endarterectomy-for-asymptomatic-carotid-stenosis http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Newspublications/News/MRC006173 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa070972 There is also a feature in the Times today, but it’s behind a paywall, about […]
What’s a conflict of interest when it comes to breast screening?
The medical press is carrying a lot about the latest international arguments about breast screening. The BMJ carried an excellent editorial ‘Mammography wars” highlighting the recent Canadian taskforce on the subject. This called for a halt to routine breast examination, and a starting age of 50 before starting screening mammography, which they recommended to be […]
Review of breast cancer screening evidence
Professor Susan Bewley challenged Prof Mike Richards on the evidence for her invite to breast screening, in the BMJ. He responded by saying a review was already underway, but it sounds like a weird review. He says that “An independent review of the research evidence (randomised controlled studies and observational studies) is being undertaken, led […]
GMTV’s Dr Steele is wrong to promote cervical screening in under 25s
Medicine in the Media article in the BMJ, free link here.
Choices for screening and paternalism
Luisa Dillner wrote a statistically correct and informative article about breast screening in the Guardian recently; she has been replied to by Chris Askew, the chief executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. He makes a big mistake. In his first paragraph, he says “Breakthrough Breast Cancer hopes this will not discourage women from attending their breast-screening […]
Breast screening challenged (again)
Surely we shall see some progress on proper information about breast screening soon? From this week’s BMJ: basically, improvements in breast cancer treatment, not access to breast screening, can explain improvements in mortality from the disease. This is important information for women who are deciding whether or not to have breast screening. As I’ve said […]
We are in serious trouble over screening
BMJ summer column, here but cut and pasted till the login works below. We are in serious trouble over screening. For all that medicine has cringed at paternalism and “doctor knows best,” has wrung its collective hands, and promised to do better, screening is still the last great preserve of unethical practice. If you are […]
New law on irradiating well people: will it stop screening companies profiting?
I don’t know. I hope so. An amendment has been made to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. It comes into force on July 25th. It says that “At the end of regulation 3(a) (application) of the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000(3) after “medical diagnosis or treatment” insert “, including any exposure […]