PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 441 - 6 Dec 2003

Cancer screening overused amongelderly women

The widespread use of mammograms and Pap*

smears among elderly women in the US is a misdirecteduse of healthcare funds that might be better used inhigh-risk, underserved populations, according toresearchers from the Duke University Medical Centre,US.

They estimate that in 2000, 4.6 million women aged> 70 years had mammograms costing approximately$US460 million, and 3.7 million had Pap smears, costing$US47 million. Data was derived from the HRS andAHEAD studies,** which involved women aged50–61 years (n = 5942) and ≥ 70 years (4543),respectively, and showed that almost 70–80% of womenaged 50–64 years had received mammograms in the last2 years; 75% had received Pap smears. Although thepercentages of mammograms and Pap smears droppedto 40% and 25%, respectively, among women aged85–90 years, screening rates in all age bracketsincreased from 1995/1996 to 2000.

The socioeconomic impact of overscreening is largeand should not be ignored, the researchers remark. Theynote that physicians continue to screen elderly patientsfor cancer despite limited scientific evidence that suchscreening is beneficial.* Papanicolaou** HRS = Health and Retirement Study; AHEAD = The Asset andHealth Dynamics Among the Oldest Old

Duke University Medical Center. Elderly Women Over-Screened for Cancers withLittle Measurable Benefit. Media Release : 25 Nov 2003. Available from: URL:http://dukemednews.org 809028639

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 6 Dec 2003 No. 4411173-5503/10/0441-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved