‘blindly pursuing early detection risks subjecting a third of diagnosed women to unnecessary harm.’ Jason Oke According to research led by the Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University London, screening all British women over 30 years of age could result in 17,000 fewer ovarian and 64,000 breast cancers over a lifetime. Not only […]
A recent trial of keyhole knee surgery for partial meniscectomy showed surgical intervention was ineffective. Surgery rates have varied markedly over time and across the UK, suggesting there is a lot of overtreatment. Carl Heneghan Published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases the randomised trial reported arthroscopic partial meniscectomy was no more effective than […]
More intense monitoring makes no difference to outcomes in type 2 diabetes and costs a lot more, but not everyone agrees on what should be done in practice. Carl Heneghan, Ben Goldacre Glucose self-monitoring with automated feedback messaging in type 2 diabetics not taking insulin makes no difference to patient outcomes and costs a lot […]
40 years after its discovery, a re-analysis of the two largest trials to date, controversially suggests PSA screening may actually be beneficial. Jack O’Sullivan Most healthcare organisations do not recommend PSA screening for prostate cancer (USPSTF, Public Health England), mainly in response to conflicting evidence about the benefits and clear evidence of harms. PSA […]