neoplasia 6

Question 1

what are the benefits of cancer screening?

Answer 1

1. detect problem early = increase chance of survival
2. treatment may be more effective
3. reduce chance of developing condition or complications
4. reduction in num of deaths from screened disease
5. can help individuals make more informed decisions about general health (e.g. change lifestyle factors)

Question 2

what are the limitations/risks of cancer screening?

Answer 2

1. not 100% accurate
2. some screening tests can lead to difficult decisions (e.g. child with down syndrome)
3. anxiety associated with knowledge of health problem
4. even with a negative a person could still develop condition later

Question 3

what are the different screening results?

Answer 3

normal (screen negative) result:
* low risk of having condition
* may develop condition in future

high risk (screen positive) result:
* may have condition
* offered further tests to confirm this

false positve:
* someone with positve result who doesn’t have disease

false negaitve:
* someone who tests negative but actually has disease

Question 4

what is the sensitivity of a screening programme?

Answer 4

ability of screening test to identify people with condition as positive

Question 5

what is the specificity of a screening programme?

Answer 5

ability of screening programme to identify healthy people as negative

Question 6

what screening programmes are available in UK?

Answer 6

1. breast screening
2. cervical screening
3. bowel screening

Question 7

what screening programmes are available in the UK for pregnant women?

Answer 7

1. screening fro infectious diseases
2. screening from downs
3. screening for sickle cells
4. diabetic eye screening

Question 8

what screening programmes are available in the UK for newborns?

Answer 8

1. physical examination
2. hearing examination
3. blood spot test:
   * sickle cells
   * cystic fibrosis
   * congenital hypothyroidism

Question 9

what are the basic prinicples of the cervical screening programme?

Answer 9

• smear test
• all women and people with cervix aged 25-64
• cells taken from cervix
• checked for high risk HPV:
  1. if negative no further testing
  2. if positve cells assessed under microscope

Question 10

what are the basic principles of the abdominal aortic aneurysm screening?

Answer 10

• men are offered it during the year that they turn 65
• men over 65 can self-refer

Question 11

what are the different types of aneurysym?

Answer 11

Fusiform:
* aneurysm bulges out on all sides of the blood vessel
* most common form of aneurysym

Saccular:
* only bulges out on one side
* does not involve the full diaemeter of the blood vessel

Mycotic:
* caused by bacterial infection of arterial wall
* rare