[Does cancer screening really save lives ?]

Systematic screening for specific cancers has been shown to reduce cancer-specific mortality, but has not demonstrated an effect on all-cause mortality. This paradox is due to minor but frequent risks of screening bearing on a large population, and also to the small beneficial effect expected even if screening is highly efficient. Upcoming multicancer detection approaches should allow a better detection of the effect (if any) of screening on all-cause mortality.
(© 2023 médecine/sciences – Inserm.)