Cancer Society Shifts Stance on Breast- and Prostate-Cancer Screening
October 22, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
In a significant shift from past policy, the American Cancer Society is modifying its message on cancer screening, saying that the benefits have been overstated, The New York Times reports.
The organization, long a staunch defender of screening, is working on a message to post on its Web site next year noting that early detection of some cancers, particularly breast and prostate, carries a risk of overtreatment of small cancers and missing more deadly ones. Research published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that a spike in early diagnoses of breast and prostate cancer, thanks to screening, has not led to a commensurate decline in late-stage cancers.
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