2024 SABCS Meeting Magazine - 26

Risk Reduction and Early Detection CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25
WEIGHING THE BENEFITS OF EARLY DETECTION AGAINST MORTALITY RISKS AND QUALITY OF LIFE
While detecting cancer early
seems like a good thing at the
surface, weighing the risk-benefit
ratio of early detection and
screening for breast cancer can
produce a hazy answer.
Earlier detection and earlier
treatment don't always translate
to a beneficial effect on cancer
mortality, explained Ismail Jatoi,
MD, UT Health San Antonio Mays
Cancer Center.
" We need to look at the treatment
interaction and intervene when
treatment is most effective, " he said.
" If we have effective treatments, and
treating a disease a little bit later is
just as effective as treating it earlier,
then you have to wonder, 'Is there any
real benefit to earlier detection?' "
Dr. Jatoi will be the moderator
for Risk Reduction and Early
Detection: Updates on Breast
Cancer Screening on Wednesday,
December 11, at noon in Stars at
Night 3-4. Panelists will
address risk-based
screening in the
average population,
screening for
women at high risk
of developing breast
cancer, and novel imaging
modalities.
" The whole point of
screening and early detection is
to find the disease earlier with the
aim of reducing mortality. Another
important reason for cancer
screening, of course, is to improve
quality of life, as there might
be less morbidity with earlier
treatment, " Dr. Jatoi said. " For
example, with small, localized,
screen-detected breast cancers,
breast-conserving surgery
is generally feasible, but
with larger tumors,
mastectomy might
be required. "
Despite these clear
benefits, screening
Ismail Jatoi, MD
comes with risks,
including the risk of false
positives and the risk of
overdiagnosis, which refers to the
detection of lesions that would
not have been detected without
screening and would not have posed
a threat to the life of the patient.
26
2024 SABCS®
| Meeting Magazine
2024 SABCS Meeting Magazine

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