At what age do cancer screenings start? 3 routines for cancer prevention physical examination

“Anti-cancer physical examination is not a census, nor is it a general physical examination. It is not necessary for ordinary people to do it…”

Recently, span>Chen Wanqing, Director of the Office of Cancer Early Diagnosis and Treatment at the National Cancer Center‘s remarks caused a great uproar.

Doesn’t it mean that the earlier cancer is detected, the better? As an effective way to detect cancer, why don’t oncologists recommend that everyone do cancer screening?

Director Chen Wanqing believes that cancer physical examination is different from ordinary physical examination. It is more targeted and refined. It is not an ordinary physical examination, and ordinary people do not need to do it every year.

span>Because the incidence of cancer in ordinary people is not high, if everyone goes for cancer check-ups, it will increase the tension of medical resources.

In view of this background, Director Chen strongly recommends that high-risk groups receive regular check-ups for cancer prevention, rather than the annual Do it all. This view is somewhat similar to that of Academician Han Qide of the Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of Sciences For ordinary people, cancer screening may also exacerbate Overdiagnosis and increased psychological burden.

1. The cruel truth: cancer screening for healthy people does not reduce the mortality rate

The current vice chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Han Qide, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that after some early screening of cancer, the mortality rate is not reduce. Academician Han Qide’s statement is not groundless. According to studies on prostate cancer done in the United States, researchers divided 76,000 patients aged 55 to 74 years into two halves. No screening.

After a period of time, it was found that the prevalence of prostate cancer in the screening population was 108/10,000, and the prevalence in the non-screening population was 97 People/10,000, which means that there are more patients who have undergone prostate cancer screening.

Early screening methods not only cost disproportionate to benefits, but also may harm patients themselves when some cancers are detected. Once a patient is diagnosed with cancer that has been dormant for a decade or two through early screening, the mind will be under an unpredictable burden of stress. It can be seen that the phrase “early detection, early treatment” does not apply to all diseases. According to Academician Han Qide, healthy people do not need to undergo general cancer screening, but high-risk groups need targeted screening.

2. At what age is it better to start cancer screening? How are high-risk groups considered?

Although experts say that ordinary people do not need to do special cancer screening, they can do some early screening according to their age in daily life. Because age is also an important reference factor for tumor screening, the incidence of various tumors is different in different age groups.

55 years old is a high incidence period of lung cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer and other cancers. Ordinary people can have corresponding examinations around 55 years old, and high-risk groups need to be screened 5 years earlier. ~10 years.

Zhang Haiyan, Director of Health Checkup and Cancer Screening Department of Chongqing University Cancer Hospital Affiliated Cancer Hospitalbelieves that the following 5 types of people belong to high-risk groups :

1. Family inheritance

People with a family history of the disease belong to the high-risk group. Medical history relatives include immediate or collateral relatives within three generations.

2. Bad living habits

Frequent smoking and drinking, staying up late, drug abuse, etc. People with poor lifestyle habits have a higher risk of cancer.

3. Long-term exposure to toxic substances

Long-term exposure to toxic, harmful and carcinogenic substances The population belongs to the high risk group of cancer.

4. The living environment is polluted

The living environment is polluted by chemicals, heavy metals and other substances Pollution increases the risk of cancer.

5. Infected by special microorganisms

Have suffered from hepatitis B, AIDS, etc. People with viral infections have a higher risk of developing cancer.

Third, the routines of anti-cancer physical examination will be broken for you one by one

< p>We should not only do the corresponding anti-cancer examinations regularly, but also avoid the following mistakes in medical examinations.

1. Can PET-CT scan the whole body in one step? You didn’t discuss it.

Because PET-CT can scan the whole body, it is helpful to detect cancers and benign tumors with a diameter of more than 5 mm in the upper and lower parts of the human body, and to diagnose infectious diseases , immune diseases, etc., so many people mistakenly believe that they can sit back and relax after doing PET-CT.

In fact, PET-CT is not only expensive, but also has radiation effects on the human body.< span>And in practical applications,due to the diversity and complexity of tumors, cancer may not necessarily be detected. According toSolution, PET-CT examination is nearly 10,000 yuan, and it is not suitable as a general physical examination item.

2. Is blood drawn only for tumor markers? There is a high probability that the diagnosis will be missed

Many people regard tumor markers as the standard for tumor detection, and think that tumor markers can be used to detect whether the body has cancer. In fact, this understanding is biased. Although tumor markers are important inspection items, they are only a common inspection method.And elevated tumor markers do not necessarily indicate cancer , tumor markers may not necessarily increase after cancer.

3. Do genetic testing for life-long protection? Expensive and inaccurate

There are now many rumors claiming that genetic testing can prevent life-long illness. In fact, this claim is not scientific. First, the relationship between most cancers and certain genes is not clear, because many cancers are caused by multiple genes and factors..

Second, there are currently no specific interventions to eliminate some of the higher-risk tumors diagnosed by genetic screening , so check back regularly. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of tumor genetic testing is not high. The cost of each test is 3,000-30,000 yuan, and the cost per test may only be 500-5,000 yuan.

Four points: How to do reliable cancer screening?

If you want to carry out cancer prevention screening scientifically, you can refer to the following suggestions.

1. Lung cancer: chest CT should be done once a year for high-risk groups.

2. Breast cancer: High-risk groups should have a mammogram every year, and those over 70 should have a mammogram every two years.

3. Gastric cancer: Gastroscopy should be done once every 1 to 2 years in high-risk groups.

4. Liver cancer: High-risk groups should have liver function tests or alpha-fetoprotein once a year.

5. Esophageal cancer: People with bad eating habits should have a gastroscopy every year.

6. Pancreatic cancer: high-risk groups should do blood test every six months, or abdominal B-ultrasound.

7. Colorectal cancer: Colonoscopy should be done once a year for high-risk groups.

8. Cervical cancer: women who are married and have a sexual life history of more than three years should undergo a cervical cytology examination every 2 to 3 years between the ages of 21 and 29, and every 3 years between the ages of 30 and 65. once.

The body is the capital of revolution, and scientific examination can effectively prevent various diseases. There is no need for ordinary people to over-examine. On the contrary, high-risk groups or people with symptoms should pay close attention to their health. Of course, it does not mean that ordinary people do not need to do cancer screening. They can make specific arrangements according to the doctor’s advice.

References:

[1] “Can cancer screening be done every year like routine physical examination? | Online Interview with the National Health and Medical Commission 》Sohu Health.2022-04-17

[2] 《Chinese Academy of Sciences Academician Han Qide: Why don’t I advocate healthy people to do cancer screening! Possibly hurt yourself! “. Health Times. 2017-08-17

[3] “The United States advances the age of “preliminary screening for cancer prevention” by 5 years, and a table summarizes the most “early screening” people”. Big Life Times .2021-04-01

[4] “Cancer can be prevented, please keep these 10 tips”. Xinhuanet.2021-02-04

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