The American College of Physicians (ACP) offers high value advice for when and how average risk adults without symptoms should be screened for five common cancers: breast, colorectal, ovarian, prostate, and cervical. Screening for Cancer: Advice for High Value Care from the American College of Physicians is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
ACP's advice is published along with a companion piece that outlines a framework for thinking about the value of varying intensities of cancers screening. In A Value Framework for Cancer Screening, ACP speculates about pressures that encourage overly intensive low value screening, or screening that minimizes the benefits of screening while maximizing the potential for harms.
ACP reviewed clinical guidelines and evidence synthesis issued by several organizations to inform its recommendations. ACP's paper provides a convenient resource for physicians and patients to get high value advice about cancer screening. ACP's advice applies to adults without symptoms who are at average risk. Various screening strategies exist for each of the cancers highlighted in the paper, which is available under embargo.
A Value Framework for Cancer Screening: Advice for High-Value Care From the American College of Physicians, R.P. Harris, T.J. Wilt, and A. Qaseem, for the High Value Care Task Force of the American College of Physicians, Annals of Internal Medicine, doi: 10.7326/M14-2327, published 18 May 2015.
Screening for Cancer: Advice for High-Value Care From the American College of Physicianss, T.J. Wilt, R.P. Harris, and A. Qaseem, for the High Value Care Task Force of the American College of Physicians, Annals of Internal Medicine,, doi: 10.7326/M14-232, published 18 May 2015.