Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctor Group Pushes For 'High Value' Cancer Screening
The Associated Press: Doctor Group Seeks To Clear Confusion In Cancer Screening
Mammograms at 40 or 50? Every year or every other year? What’s the best colon check? Screening for cancer has gotten more complicated in recent years with evolving guidelines that sometimes conflict. Now a doctors’ group aims to ease some confusion — and encourage more discussion of testing’s pros and cons — with what it calls advice on “high-value screening” for five types of tumors. (Neergaard, 5/18)
Los Angeles Times: Cancer Screening: An Example Of When Less Can Be More, Experts Say
Americans get too many tests to screen for common types of cancer, and the American College of Physicians wants them to stop. New clinical guidelines from the medical group include a litany of statistics that illustrate our obsession with cancer screening. Among them: About 6 in 10 adults submitted to a colonoscopy more often than they needed to. One-third of men who got a PSA test to screen for prostate cancer couldn’t remember being asked by their doctor to do so. And 69% of women who had their cervix removed during a hysterectomy still got tested for cervical cancer. (Kaplan, 5/18)
Reuters: Less Frequent Cancer Screenings Possible For Many People, Docs Say
Many patients could be screened less often for certain cancers to minimize their risk of receiving unnecessary follow-up tests or treatment for tumors that are unlikely to become harmful, U.S. doctors recommend. Less frequent screening for some malignancies, as well as starting tests later in life and ending them earlier in old age, may make sense for some adults without a family history or other risk factors for cancer, according to American College of Physicians (ACP) guidelines published May 18 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Rapaport, 5/18)
Meanwhile, mammograms are one of the screening tests that continues to draw study and review -
NPR: Change To Mammogram Guidelines Could Lead To Coverage Shift
Millions of women could lose access to free mammograms under changes to breast cancer screening guidelines that influence insurers, the consulting firm Avalere estimates. The Avalere analysis is based on an update to breast cancer screening recommendations proposed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of medical experts whose work guides health care standards and policy. The public comment period on the proposal expires Monday. (Kelto, 5/18)
Reuters: Extra Radiology Exams May Only Benefit Some Women With Dense Breasts
While it's often suggested that women with dense breasts get ultrasound or other extra screenings after a mammogram, a new study suggests those added tests may only help certain women. Breast density increases breast cancer risk and can mask tumors during mammograms, the researchers explain in the Annals of Internal Medicine. (Doyle, 5/18)
