Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis

Cancer overdiagnosis: a challenge in the era of screening

"Screening" is a search for preclinical, asymptomatic disease, including cancer. Widespread cancer screening has led to large increases in early-stage cancers and pre-cancers. Ubiquitous public messages emphasize the potential benefits to screening for these lesions based on the underlying assumption that treating cancer at early stages before spread to other organs should make it easier to treat and cure, using more tolerable interventions. The intuition is so strong that public campaigns are sometimes launched without conducting definitive trials directly comparing screening to usual care. An effective cancer screening test should not only increase the incidence of early-stage preclinical disease but should also decrease the incidence of advanced and metastatic cancer, as well as a subsequent decrease in cancer-related mortality. Otherwise, screening efforts may be uncovering a reservoir of non-progressive and very slowly progressive lesions that were not destined to cause symptoms or suffering during the person's remaining natural lifespan: a phenomenon known as "overdiagnosis." We provide here a qualitative review of cancer overdiagnosis and discuss specific examples due to extensive population-based screening, including neuroblastoma, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, and breast cancer. The harms of unnecessary diagnosis and cancer therapy call for a balanced presentation to people considering undergoing screening, even with a test of accepted benefit, with a goal of informed decision-making. We also discuss proposed strategies to mitigate the adverse sequelae of overdiagnosis.

Is Grade Group 1 (Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6) adenocarcinoma of the prostate really cancer?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Whether Grade Group 1 (GG1) prostate cancer is really cancer remains controversial.

RECENT FINDINGS

Favoring renaming GG1 with a noncancerous diagnosis are: fear of the term cancer, which will lead to overtreatment of GG1; and indolence of GG1. Favor designating GG1 as cancer are: morphologically, GG1 may be indistinguishable from GG2 to GG5 and GG1 is invasive (lacks basal cells), can show perineural invasion and extraprostatic extension; molecularly, GG1 has many of the hallmarks of prostate cancer; calling GG1 noncancer would lead to inconsistencies and confusion in reporting; sampling error with GG1 on biopsy can miss higher grade cancer; removing the label of cancer in men with GG1 on biopsy may make it challenging to insure follow-up during active surveillance; the prognosis of treated GG1 may not be the same if GG1 called noncancer and not treated; with Grade Group terminology, GG1 is more intuitive to patients as lowest grade cancer; and patients are increasingly adopting active surveillance, recognizing that not all prostate cancers are the same and GG1 can be followed carefully and safely on active surveillance.

SUMMARY

There is strong support for retaining the carcinoma designation for GG1.