Screening: the list of what actually reduces mortality is short
For prostate cancer, 23 years of follow-up show a real reduction in mortality, at the cost of 456 men invited and 12 diagnosed to avoid one death. For melanoma, 59% of cases diagnosed in white women in the United States are estimated to be overdiagnosis. For the coronary calcium score, no randomised trial has shown an effect on mortality. Screening is worth it only where a trial has measured it.
The questions people ask us
- Which cancer screenings actually reduce mortality?
- Should I have a PSA test after 50?
- Should I have all my moles checked?
- Does a calcium score change anything?
- Why have your eyes examined when your sight is fine?
What the figures say
| What is measured | The result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Prostate cancer screening, disease-specific mortality at 23 years | A real and significant reduction | 23-year follow-up |
| Men to invite, and to diagnose, to avoid 1 death | 456 invited, 12 diagnosed | Same follow-up |
| Share of overdiagnosis among melanomas diagnosed, white women in the United States | 59%, and 60% in men | US estimate |
| Reported melanoma incidence since 1975 | Up roughly sixfold | Same source |
| Randomised trials showing an effect of the calcium score on mortality | None | Review of trials |
| Certified blindness from diabetic retinopathy in England | 17.7% before systematic screening, 14.4% after | English national programme |
| Net one-year survival by route to cancer diagnosis | 94% via screening, 85% after urgent referral, 82% via the family doctor | UK national data |
This is the most uncomfortable table on the site, which is exactly what makes it useful. It contains a screening that saves lives at the cost of substantial overdiagnosis, a screening that is massively overdiagnosed, a fashionable test with no proven mortality benefit, and a national programme that genuinely reduced blindness. All four are screening. They are not equivalent.
What Noria Health does on screening, and what it does not
Noria Health arranges targeted screening near Brussels within 24 to 48 hours, built from the risk profile rather than from a package, and for every test proposed the page states what the trial measured and what it did not. The report is issued within 24 hours, follow-up is structured at D14, D30 and D90.
What Noria Health does not do: offer a screening test because it is available. A test that no trial has shown to reduce mortality can find something without changing the outcome, and can trigger procedures that do carry risk. Saying so is part of the consultation.
Who reviewed this page
Noria Health editorial team.
The articles
- Cancer screening: which tests actually reduce mortality?
- Prostate: PSA, MRI, should you be screened?
- Melanoma, 330,000 cases a year and a rising risk
- Heart: 44% of people with high blood pressure do not know it
- Glaucoma: 1 person in 2 does not know they have it
Have your case reviewed. Noria Health arranges a specialist consultation near Brussels and confirms feasibility within 24 to 48 hours. Open a case.