Last year, more than 110,000 elderly people aged 85 or older underwent national cancer screening. Even though experts warn about the futility and dangers of cancer screening for people over 75 years old, the government is providing cancer screening services to quite a few very elderly people over 85 years old.
According to the National Health Insurance Corporation’s national cancer screening statistics, there were 111,057 very elderly people aged 85 or older who underwent national cancer screenings for stomach, colon, breast, cervix, liver, and lung last year. In 2018, there were 73,465 people. It has increased by 51% in 4 years. National cancer screening is a program in which middle-aged and elderly people over a certain age undergo six types of cancer screening. For stomach, breast, and liver cancer, those over the age of 40 are eligible, for lung cancer, those aged 54 to 74 are at high risk, and for cervical cancer, those over the age of 20 are eligible. It is free or only 10% of the test fee is covered. In 2021, 83.6 billion won was spent.
The theory of the futility of cancer screening for the elderly came up at a forum hosted by the National Cancer Center and the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Korea. Professor Choi Yun-jeong (preventive medicine specialist) of the Department of Cancer Management at the National Cancer Center’s Graduate School of Cancer said in a presentation on ‘Not Recommended Cancer Health Screening’ on September 7 that the risk of death from stomach cancer screening for people aged 85 or older is greater than the benefit. warned.
Professor Choi cited a domestic study and said, “If the very elderly aged 85 or older undergo a cancer screening test to screen for stomach cancer, the risk of death due to this test is 2.15 times higher.” Professor Choi said, “This means that people over 85 should not be screened for stomach cancer because the risk of death due to infection or bleeding during screening is greater than the benefit of screening.” For those aged 75 to 84, the risk of death is 1.09 to 1.15 times, so the benefit is not certain. There is no reason to do it because the evidence for benefits and harms is insufficient.
How often do seniors over 85 get screened for stomach cancer? According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, 55,816 people were screened for stomach cancer last year under the national cancer screening program. There are 25,375 men and 30,441 women. There was a 50% increase from 2018 (37,224 peop
Colon cancer is similar. According to the National Cancer Center’s cancer screening recommendations, there is insufficient evidence to conduct a differential occult blood test (testing for blood in stool) for people over 80 years old even though they have no symptoms. This means that there is no need to compare the benefits and risks because there is not enough evidence to compare them먹튀검증.
The U.S. Special Committee on Disease Prevention and Control recommends that people over 76 years of age should individually decide whether or not to be tested based on their health status and previous test results. The American Cancer Society recommends that people over 86 not undergo screening.
Professor Choi Yun-jeong said, “Recommending cancer screenings to elderly parents during Chuseok may not necessarily be filial piety. If you must do so, it is better to consult with the doctor your parents usually go to.”
le). Last year, 274,254 people aged 80 to 84 were screened for stomach cancer.
The number of seniors aged 80 or older who underwent colorectal cancer screening last year amounted to 373,491. These are people who have undergone a fecal occult blood test or an endoscopy (pilot project). Of these, 82,013 are over 85 years old.
According to the National Cancer Center’s cancer screening recommendations, it is recommended that mammography for breast cancer in those over the age of 70 should be performed based on risk and individual preference. This means deciding whether or not to consider it on a case- by- case basis . Last year, 314,083 people aged 70 or older underwent breast cancer screening. There are 24,702 people aged 85 or older.
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