Experts recommending fewer cancer screenings

Oct 20 2011

New cervical cancer screening guidelines are the latest example of this emerging cautious view.  

The Associated Press: Annual Cancer Screening Tests Urged Less And Less
Annual cancer tests are becoming a thing of the past. New guidelines out Wednesday for cervical cancer screening have experts at odds over some things, but they are united in the view that the common practice of getting a Pap test every year is too often and probably doing more harm than good. A Pap smear once every three years is the best way to detect cervical cancer, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says. Last week, it recommended against prostate cancer screening with PSA tests, which many men get every year (Marchione, 10/19).

Reuters: Health Panel Cautious On HPV Screening Vs Pap
A U.S. government-backed medical panel on Wednesday took a cautious view of a new generation of cervical cancer tests, discouraging women under the age of 30 to screen for human papillomavirus as a way to prevent cancer. ... The panel, comprised of primary care physicians who are experts at evidence-based research, is highly influential in setting the tone for primary care practice (Selyukh, 10/19).

NPR's SHOTS blog: How Hairdressers Can Help Fight Skin Cancer
Hair stylists already spend a lot of time staring at the back of people's heads. Researchers thought: Why not train them to check for suspicious lesions and other signs of skin cancer while they're at it? ...  In a survey of 203 Houston-area hair salon workers, 58 percent of respondents told researchers from Harvard's School of Public Health that they had urged a client at least once to get a mole checked out by a medical professional. ...  over the years, public health officials have recruited salon workers' help in various health awareness campaigns ... Many of these efforts have focused on reaching minority communities (Godoy, 10/18).