The impact of screening and early diagnosis on survival--results from the Italian cancer registries
Paci, E.; Quaglia, A.; Pannelli, F.; Budroni, M.
Epidemiologia e Prevenzione 25(3 Suppl): 9-14
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 1120-9763 PMID: 11695205 Document Number: 527905
Early diagnosis of neoplastic diseases enjoined large popularity in the last two decades. In many countries or European regions, population-based cancer screening programs for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer are going on. Diagnostic tests, like the PSA test for prostate cancer, are not yet validated in terms of their efficacy in reducing specific mortality, but their spontaneous diffusion is changing the pattern of the disease incidence. In this contribution, we discuss briefly the survival trends for some tumours (breast, cervix, colorectal, melanoma and prostate cancer) for which the occurrence rates are modified by screening and for some of them we evaluate the possible impact of early diagnosis on survival rates.