NIH Consensus 1994: Screening

• Published in: Gynecologic oncology Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. S20 - S21
• Main Authors: Kramer, Barnett S., Gohagan, John, Prorok, Philip C.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01.12.1994; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; CA-125 Antigen - blood; Female; Female genital diseases; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Mass Screening - methods; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Ovarian Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Ovarian Neoplasms - immunology; Ovarian Neoplasms - prevention & control; Tumors; Ultrasonography
• ISSN: 0090-8258; 1095-6859
• DOI: 10.1006/gyno.1994.1335

Frequently, the medical and lay community has assumed that earlier diagnosis of cancer of any type automatically confers benefit and that any diagnostic test that can identify early stages of disease must therefore be useful for screening. However, there is an emerging science of screening which affords a more rigorous approach to public health recommendations in the application of new technologies to screening and early detection. A number of public health groups and agencies are using an evidence-based approach in making recommendations. Using this approach, early detection methods for ovarian cancer would meet only the weakest level of evidence to support their routine application in asymptomatic women. For this reason, the National Cancer Institute has recently launched a large randomized clinical trial to test the effectiveness of screening for ovarian cancer.