Screening Flashcards
Overall most common cancer in US?
- basal cell and squamou skin cancer
Most common cancers in men and women after skin cancer?
- prostate
- breast
Most common cause of cancer death?
- lung and bronchus: both males and females
How can cancer be prevented?
it’s all about lifestyle:
- avoid tobacco
- be physically active
- maintain a healthy wt
- limit alcohol
- avoid excess sun
- eat a diet rich in fruits, veggies, and whole grains, and low in saturated/trans fat
- protect against STIs
- get regular screening for breast, cervical and CRC
Main principles of screening?
Screening is indicated when:
- disease has high prevalence
- disease has serious consequences
- has detectable preclinical phase
- tx for presx disease is more effective than after sx development
- positive impact on clinical health outcomes
- other considerations:
what are pt’s co-morbid conditions? Assoc life expectancy, feasibility of tx, effects of tx on quality of life?
What will you do with the results?
What cancers are largely asx in early stages? What is their 5 yr survival rate?
- CRC, breast, and cervical cancer are each largerly asx in early stages
- they have at least a 90% 5 yr survival rate if detected and tx when the cancer is still localized
Leading cause of death from a gyn malignancy in US?
- ovarian cancer
- survival is much improved for earlier stage disease, however most cancers have spread beyond ovary at time of dx
Do annual pelvic exams reduce mortality from ovarian cancer?
- no evidence that supports this
- ovarian tumors can be detected during bimanual pelvic exam, although early stage tumors are rarely found due to deep anatomic location of ovary
- tumors detected by bimanual pelvic exam are usually at an advanced stage and assoc with poor prognosis
Has screening with annual CA 125 and TVUS in postmenopausal women been beneficial? Which women should be screened for these? When should this screening be started?
- screening with these tumor markers have shown no decrease in mortality from ovarian cancer
- women with a familial ovarian cancer syndrome or BRCA genes, who haven’t undergone prophylactic oophorectomy, should be screened with combo of CA 125 and TVUS
- initiation at 35 or 5-10 yrs earlier than earliest age of 1st dx of cancer in family
What are the BRCA mutations? Assoc cancer risks?
- 1 and 2: inherited as auto dominant, highly penetrant, germline mutations that are assoc with inherited susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer
- BRCA 1 carriers:
cumulative risk by 70 -
breast cancer: 60%
ovarian: 59%
contralateral breast: 83% - BRCA 2 carriers: cum risk by 70-
breast cancer: 55%
ovarian: 16.5%
contralateral breast: 62%
Ovarian cancer screening recommendations?
- USPSTF and CS recommend against it
- ACS recommends annual pelvic exam in pts 21 and older
- this doesn’t include women with known BRCA mutations
Does screening for ovarian cancer have a positve impact on clinical health outcomes?
- no - annual pelvic exams, CA-125, and TVUS don’t decrease mortality from ovarian cancer
How can ovarian cancer be prevented?
- oral contraceptives (50% less chance of ovarian cancer if on OCPs for more than 5 yrs)
- gyn surgery
- pregnancy
- breastfeeding
Main reason for decrease in rates of cervical cancer?
- it was once one of the MCCx of cancer death for American women
- over last 30 yrs death rate has gone down by more than 50%
- main reason for this is increased use of pap test. The screening procedure can find changes in cervix b/f cancer develops. It can also find cervical cancer early in its most curable stage
Cervical cancer screening recommendations?
- USPSTF, ACS, and ACOG recommend:
all women shoul begin cervical cancer screening at 21 unless they have HIV or are immunocompromised - from 21-29 cytology only q 3 yrs
- beginning at 30:
cytology q 3 yrs and co-testing cytology and HPV testing q 5 yrs - may stop after 65 if adequate screening in past 10 yrs w/ 2 negative screens, if not getting adequate screening wait until 70-75
What are high risk groups for cervical cancer?
those who need more frequent screening (usually annually):
- pts with HIV infection
- pts who are immunocompromised (SLE)
- those who had in utero DES exposure
- women have been tx for CIN2, CIN3, or cervical cancer
What women who have had total hysterectomy should continue to have pap tests done?
- if they had surgery for tx of cervical cancer or pre-cancer
- women who had hysterectomy w/o removal of the cervix should continue to have pap tests
- women who had their cervix out for reasons other than cervical cancer DON’T need pap smears
Cervical cancer prevention?
- Gardasil
- avoid exposure to HPV (use protection)
- pap smear: detects pre-cancerous changes before it becoems invasive cancer
How common is breast cancer in US? Mortality? Primary risk factors? When are majority of cancers dx?
- 2nd MC cancer in women, 1/8 women in US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime
- 2nd leading cause of cancer death in woemn
- primary RFs: gender - predom. females, age: about 85% of breast cancers occur after women reach 50
- majority of cancers are dx as a result of an abnormal screening study
Breast cancer survival rates by stage?
- 100%: stage 1
- 93%: II
- 72%: III
- 22%: IV