Most diagnosed cancers come from symptoms or scans for other medical issues, and only 14.1 percent are found through cancer screenings, CNN reported Dec. 14.
The report, published online by NORC at the University of Chicago, used data from 2017. It noted there are only four types of cancers with screening tests recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The detection rate via screening varies for each: 61 percent of breast, 52 percent of cervical, 45 percent of colorectal and 3 percent of lung cancers. Most cancer types don't have any screening tests available.
"I was shocked that only 14 percent of cancers were detected by screening. I think, for many people, we talk so much about cancer screening that we imagine that that's how all cancers are diagnosed. We talk about mammograms and colonoscopies all the time," Caroline Pearson, an author of the report and senior vice president at the organization, told CNN.
And the numbers are probably worse for screenings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I definitely think that the percent of cancers detected by screening would have been lower as a result of the pandemic. We know that people missed a tremendous number of recommended screenings, and we are seeing those cancers showing up at later stages in clinical settings," Ms. Pearson said. "So with the reduction in screenings, we get fewer cancers diagnosed that way, and that is certainly something that we would pick up in the data."