Cancer Screening May Be Overdone in Older Adults

More than half of surveyed seniors reported that their physicians continue to recommend cancer screening, despite ambiguity about its value for men and women over age 75, according to data analysis of a nationwide sample.

Among adults between the ages of 75 and 79, 57% were screened for colorectal cancer, 62% for breast, 53% for cervical, and 56% for prostate cancers, according to Keith M. Bellizzi, PhD, MPH, from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and colleagues. In the group that was 80 years or older, rates varied from a low of 38% for cervical cancer screening to a high of 50% for breast cancers, they reported in the December 12 Archives of Internal Medicine.

Screening behaviors were examined according to the U.S Preventive Services Task Force recommendations.

They found that education and physician recommendations had higher predictive values for screening in those older than 75.

Read the full article at: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Geriatrics/GeneralGeriatrics/30193

Source: MedPage Today