Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov;69(11):767-771.
doi: 10.46747/cfp.6911767.

Debunking myths about screening: How to screen more judiciously

Affiliations

Debunking myths about screening: How to screen more judiciously

Guylène Thériault et al. Can Fam Physician. 2023 Nov.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Two models of cancer progression: The traditional model (left) posits that all cancers are destined to follow an orderly progression from the primary site to the lymph nodes, on to distant metastatic sites, ultimately causing cancer death. The contemporary model (right) is more complex and heterogeneous. Some cancers are metastatic at their onset (A), some never metastasize yet cause death from local invasion (B), while others follow the traditional model (C). Still other cancers are not destined to ever cause symptoms because they grow so slowly that patients die from other causes before symptoms appear (D), stop growing (E), or regress (F).

Comment in

  • Evidence-based truths about the benefit of cancer screening.
    Wilkinson AN. Wilkinson AN. Can Fam Physician. 2024 May;70(5):296. doi: 10.46747/cfp.7005296. Can Fam Physician. 2024. PMID: 38744517 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Response.
    Thériault G, Reynolds DL, Grad R, Dickinson JA, Singh H, Szafran O, Antao V, Bell NR. Thériault G, et al. Can Fam Physician. 2024 May;70(5):296-297. doi: 10.46747/cfp.7005296_1. Can Fam Physician. 2024. PMID: 38744523 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Similar articles

Cited by

  • Evidence-based truths about the benefit of cancer screening.
    Wilkinson AN. Wilkinson AN. Can Fam Physician. 2024 May;70(5):296. doi: 10.46747/cfp.7005296. Can Fam Physician. 2024. PMID: 38744517 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Canadian Family Physician: 70 years and counting.
    Pimlott N. Pimlott N. Can Fam Physician. 2024 Jun;70(6):369. doi: 10.46747/cfp.7006369. Can Fam Physician. 2024. PMID: 38886073 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Response.
    Thériault G, Reynolds DL, Grad R, Dickinson JA, Singh H, Szafran O, Antao V, Bell NR. Thériault G, et al. Can Fam Physician. 2024 May;70(5):296-297. doi: 10.46747/cfp.7005296_1. Can Fam Physician. 2024. PMID: 38744523 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Support for family physicians in the provision of mental health care.
    Pimlott N. Pimlott N. Can Fam Physician. 2023 Nov;69(11):745. doi: 10.46747/cfp.6911745. Can Fam Physician. 2023. PMID: 37963792 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Solid reasons to equitably screen.
    Persaud N, Lofters A. Persaud N, et al. Can Oncol Nurs J. 2025 May 1;35(3):518-521. eCollection 2025. Can Oncol Nurs J. 2025. PMID: 40873752 Free PMC article.

References

    1. Hoffmann TC, Del Mar C. Patients’ expectations of the benefits and harms of treatments, screening, and tests: a systematic review. JAMA Intern Med 2015;175(2):274-86. - PubMed
    1. Johansson M, Borys F, Peterson H, Bilamour G, Bruschettini M, Jørgensen KJ. Addressing harms of screening—a review of outcomes in Cochrane reviews and suggestions for next steps. J Clin Epidemiol 2021;129:68-73. Epub 2020 Oct 1. - PubMed
    1. InformedHealth.org . What is overdiagnosis? Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care; 2017. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430655. Accessed 2023 Aug 23.
    1. Harris RP, Wilt TJ, Qaseem A; High Value Care Task Force of the American College of Physicians . A value framework for cancer screening: advice for high-value care from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med 2015;162(10):712-7. - PubMed
    1. Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care . Recommendations on screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in primary care. CMAJ 2017;189(36):E1137-45. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources