The Impact of Cancer Screenings on Life Expectancy: A Comprehensive Analysis
TL;DR Summary
A meta-analysis of 18 long-term randomized clinical trials involving 2.1 million individuals found that colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy may extend life by approximately 3 months. However, fecal testing, mammography screening, and prostate-specific antigen testing did not significantly prolong life. Lung cancer screening using computed tomography showed a potential extension of 107 days, but estimates were uncertain. Overall, the findings suggest that the lifetime gain from commonly used cancer screening tests, except for colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy, is unlikely or uncertain.
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