By Gilbert Ross, M.D.
Posted: Tuesday, April 24, 2007

LETTER
Publication Date: April 24, 2007

This letter first appeared in the April 24, 2007 Washington Post:

I was surprised that the authors of "Finding More Cancer Isn't the Answer" [April 10] didn't note the current controversy over screening CT exams for early detection of lung cancer. The same paradigm applies. The studies on the efficacy of screening those at high risk -- smokers and ex-smokers -- have concluded that, despite increased detection of small cancers and increased time of survival from detection, actual mortality has not been significantly reduced.

This seeming paradox is the result of over-diagnosis of indolent cancers, whose existence was almost unknown before the introduction of screening with spiral CT. The "false alarms" attendant upon a diagnosis of lung cancer are devastating for patients, and the consequences of many fruitless lung surgeries take another toll, emotionally and financially.


Gilbert Ross, MD
Medical Director
American Council on Science and Health
New York