M. D. Anderson redefines screening guidelines for breast, cervical and colorect...( HOUSTON - Drawing on years of exper...),Health

HOUSTON - Drawing on years of experience in cancer research and patient care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center released today the most comprehensive, risk-based screening guidelines publicly available to date for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers.

The new recommendations represent the first wave of an effort by M. D. Anderson to improve the effectiveness of efforts to prevent and detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage by reconstructing and expanding its screening, risk reduction and diagnostic guidelines across eight disease sites.

Available on M. D. Anderson's Web site, the recommendations translate best practices in cancer prevention employed at M. D. Anderson into accessible guidelines the public can follow, with risk categories identified and information about when to begin and discontinue screening exams.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 40 percent of Americans will develop cancer during their lifetime, and cancers that can be prevented or detected earlier by screening account for at least half of all new cancer cases.

"Cancer screening is not one-size-fits-all," said Therese Bevers, M.D., medical director of M. D. Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center. "Our new risk-based recommendations are markedly more personalized and precise, offering detailed guidance than what has previously been made available to the public here or by other cancer organizations."

Until now, cancer screening recommendations were targeted largely to individuals at average risk for developing cancer based on characteristics like age, family history or genetic predisposition. However, average risk was not previously defined and recommendations for individuals at increased or high risk were not outlined. The new screening guidelines define risk and offer recommendations for those at increased and high risk of developing cancer. For example, there are now five different sets of s
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