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News & Events

Making Sense of Screening

05 November 2009
News & Events

Scientists, clinicians and medics express their concerns that public expectations about screening don't match what screening programmes can deliver, in a new report out this week, called Making Sense of Screening.

High profile cases, such as Kylie Minogue's treatment for breast cancer and Jade Goody's death from cervical cancer, have made screening an emotive and politicised subject. They have led to demands (and political promises) that more sections of the population should be included in screening programmes, for longer and more frequently. Amidst all this the authors of the report claim that the limitations and possible harms from screening have been largely lost from public view and this has led to unrealistic expectations of what screening can deliver.

By addressing misconceptions about how screening works, its limitations and the calculation of benefits and harms, the scientists and clinicians hope to bridge the gap between the active debates of the scientific community and the concerns raised by the public.

In the guide, Making Sense of Screening, they explain that screening:

  • rarely benefits all sections of the population and it can have negative effects, so it needs to be targeted at those most likely to benefit.
  • can identify some of the people who have a disease but it cannot prevent disease.
  • cannot give you a 'yes' or 'no' answer and an 'all clear' does not mean you will not go on to develop the disease.

http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/415