4 ms·

I'd suggest reading these to get a better idea of the potential harms of screening tests in the asymptomatic population: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-ske

by astura 7y ago

I'd suggest reading these to get a better idea of the potential harms of screening tests in the asymptomatic population: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-skeptical-look-at-screening-tests/ https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-skeptical-look-at-screeni... https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the_screening_test_that_caused_an_epidemic/ https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the_screening_test_t... https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-case-against-early-cancer-detection/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-case-against-early-...

BiteCode_dev 7y ago
This is true for any medical act you perform on a massive scale really. Including vaccination, supplementation, etc. Everything is a cost/benefit ratio.
- tptacek 7y ago
  Yes, and this math has been done on many of those interventions (certainly for vaccination) and the benefit holds up. That statistical base rates are problematic for cancer detection is a pretty well-understood problem.