Transparent Risk Communication in Cancer Screening: Reveal When It's Good and When It's Not

Accessible online at: www.karger.com/ort Fax +49 761 4 52 07 14 Information@Karger.com www.karger.com Transparent Risk Communication in Cancer Screening: Reveal When It’s Good and When It’s Not 1,000 men undergoing prostate cancer screening, 36 men were found to be overdiagnosed and overtreated as a consequence of screening [13] (fig. 1). The example of the reporting of the ERSPC trial’s benefit shows that every health statistic can be reported in a transparent or misleading way. Sometimes findings on benefits and harms are reported in 2 different currencies in order to make the respective screening or treatment look more compelling to consumers (e.g., patients and physicians) and policy makers than they actually are. Usually, the benefits are then reported Transparent Risk Communication in Cancer Screening: Reveal When It’s Good and When It’s Not