Cancer screenings and prevention efforts save lives, researchers say

Improvements in cancer screenings and prevention have prevented nearly 5 million early deaths over a recent 45-year period, according to estimates from researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

The researchers looked at 1975-2020 data for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers. They chose these cancer types because they’re “among the most common causes of cancer deaths and strategies exist for their prevention, early detection and/or treatment.” They also account for nearly half of all new cancer diagnoses and deaths in recent years.

Findings show that screening and prevention efforts saved approximately 4.8 million lives over the study period. That includes the prevention of nearly 3.5 million lung cancer deaths because people quit smoking. (Need help quitting? Find support at Smokefree.gov.) 

“We need to optimize the uptake and use of prevention and screening for these five cancers so that all Americans can benefit,” said co-lead investigator Philip E. Castle, director of the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences.

The study was published in JAMA Oncology.