Issues in determining cancer screening recommendations: who, what, and when

To provide an overview of the issues involved in evaluating and choosing cancer screening guidelines.

Current epidemiologic literature.

Screening is universally accepted as being important for cancer control. A number of organizations have developed cancer screening guidelines. However, agreement on who should be screened, with what tests, and at what ages and intervals is far from universal. Choice of screening guidelines may be influenced by differences in populations of interest and considerations of screening effectiveness.

Directing patients toward appropriate screening tests and intervals requires attention to information about screening tests and to individual and institutional characteristics.

Oncology nurses should be aware of the various issues that influence cancer screening recommendations. Nurses advising patients about or developing cancer screening services must consider identifying both the patient population to be screened and factors influencing screening test effectiveness. This information then can be used to choose the most appropriate guidelines from those available. Consideration of the issues also can be applied as advances in screening evolve.