Screening for Nasopharyngeal Cancer in High-Risk Populations: A Small Price to Pay for Early Disease Identification?
Menée notamment à l'aide de données de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé et d'une modélisation, cette étude estime le rapport coût-efficacité de 10 stratégies, basées sur un test PCR et/ou un test sérologique, pour détecter précocement un carcinome rhinopharyngé associé au virus d'Epstein-Barr dans les populations à forte incidence et réduire la mortalité spécifique
Screening tests for cancer have dramatically improved survival ratesby identifyingcertaincancersearly, prior to symptomonset. The Paptestfor cervical cancer, colonoscopy for colorectal cancer,computed tomographyforlung cancer, and mammography for breast cancer have reduced the mortality of these cancers.(1-4) To be considered an effective screening program, the disease must represent a clinically significant problem, the benefits from earlier diagnosis shouldoutweightherisks of diagnostic procedures,treatment should be available,and screening should not result in overdiagnosis of tumors that otherwise would not affect longevity. Moreover, a new screening program should be economically feasible.(5) Indeed for the aforementioned cancers, screening programs have been shown to be cost-effective.(6-9)In the articleaccompanying this editorial, Miller et al. examine the cost-effectiveness of screening programs for nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)in high-risk populations.(10)
Journal of the National Cancer Institute , éditorial en libre accès, 2019