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Screening Primary Driver of Averted Cancer Deaths From 1975 to 2020

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Dec 10, 2024.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2024 -- Over the past 45 years, cancer prevention and screening accounted for most cancer deaths averted for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, according to a study published online Dec. 5 in JAMA Oncology.

Katrina A.B. Goddard, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues quantified the contributions of prevention, screening (to remove precursors [interception] or early detection), and treatment to the cumulative number of cancer deaths averted from 1975 to 2020 for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. The analysis included extension of models developed by the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network.

The researchers estimated that 5.94 million cancer deaths were averted for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers combined. Eight of 10 of these deaths (4.75 million deaths) were averted by cancer prevention and screening efforts. By cancer site, there was variance seen in the contribution of each intervention. Screening accounted for one-fourth of breast cancer deaths averted. Screening nearly completely averted cervical cancer deaths. For colorectal cancer, 79 percent of deaths were averted because of screening and removal of precancerous polyps or early detection, while treatment advances averted 21 percent of deaths. Smoking reduction averted most lung cancer deaths (98 percent) because screening uptake was low before 2014. Just over half of prostate cancer deaths were averted by screening (56 percent).

"Despite progress, efforts to further reduce the U.S. cancer burden will require increased dissemination of effective interventions and development of new technologies and discoveries," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted December 2024

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