CANCER SCREENING DECISIONS AND POLICY: WHEN MIXED EVIDENCE MEETS STRONG PREFERENCES

Saturday, October 23, 2010: 5:30 PM
Civic Ballroom (Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel)
Ruth Etzioni, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/ University of Washington, Seattle, WA, J. Sanford Schwartz, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Clyde Schechter, MA, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY and Terrance Sullivan, PhD, Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada

This session explores the role of patient preferences in cancer screening decisions. Through the lens of recent experiences with mammography and PSA, some may question the roles of decision analysis, economic evaluation and individual preferences. Should we allow informed women under 50 to get screened if they want to after being apprised of the evidence?What about men of any age? Should PSA decisions be informed by preference?When preferences trump evidence, is the role of evidence-based economic evaluation diminished? Discussion will focus on these issues and the translation from research to policy (e.g., guidelines) and policy to individuals (e.g. decision support for patients and providers).