Screening could seriously damage your health

摘要

The costs and benefits of screening programmes are generating more than their usual share of interest Last week the NHS Executive's new national screening committee held a press conference at the Royal College of Surgeons and declared that the costs of prostate cancer screening—in terms of impotence, incontinence, postoperative mortality, and psychological disturbance—outweighed any possible benefits. This statement was made possible because of two systematic reviews commissioned by the Health Technology Assessment programme. Many more systematic reviews of screening programmes are due to be reported soon, so the debate on screening will continue to run.