Could screening for atrial fibrillation – an underdiagnosed heart condition – help prevent strokes? Researchers from the University of Cambridge, leading a consortium of academic partners, are beginning work this month in East Anglia on the largest trial to date of screening for atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition that causes an […]
What should doctors say to men asking for a PSA test?
The evidence behind prostate cancer screening – including the latest large trial of prostate cancer screening with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test – shows no difference in prostate cancer mortality after 10 years, according to a review published in the BMJ last week. Neither the US Preventive Services Task Force nor Public Health England recommend population […]
New research to explore whether inviting people for screening based on their risk rather than their age alone can improve efficiency of screening programme
Dr Juliet Usher-Smith, an academic general practitioner from the Primary Care Unit (PCU) at the University of Cambridge, has been awarded a grant of almost £65,000 from Bowel Cancer UK and Beating Bowel Cancer. The research will investigate whether people living in England should be invited to take part in the bowel cancer screening programme […]
Large studies find screening reduces mortality for those with detectable type 2 diabetes but not for general population
Three large trials involving researchers from the MRC Epidemiology Unit and the Department of Public Health and Primary Care show that screening for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors may not reduce mortality and cardiovascular disease in the general population. However, for individuals diagnosed with diabetes, screening is associated with a reduction in mortality […]