Preventing Chronic Disease: Investing Wisely in Health Revised August 2005 Screening to Prevent Cancer Deaths (PDF–142K) Learn more about PDFs.

Screening to Prevent Cancer Deaths

The Facts

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, exceeded only by heart disease.¹ Every year, cancer claims the lives of more than half a million people.² Many cancer deaths could be avoided if more people were screened for cancer.^3–5

Screening for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancers can reduce illness and death through early detection of cancers and pre-cancers. Yet many adults are not getting regular lifesaving screenings as recommended.⁶ Colorectal, breast, and cervical cancers accounted for nearly a fifth of all U.S. cancer deaths in 2001, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.⁷

Colorectal Cancer

• An estimated 56,000* people will die of colorectal cancer in 2005.⁸
• More than 145,000* new cases will be diagnosed.⁸
• Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among both men and women.⁷
• The primary risk factor for colorectal cancer is age, with more than 90% of new cancer cases diagnosed in adults aged 50 years or older.⁸

Breast Cancer

• An estimated 40,000* women will die of breast cancer in 2005.⁸
• More than 211,000* new cases will be diagnosed.⁸
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer.⁷
• The risk of developing breast cancer increases as one ages. About 77% of diagnoses are among women aged 50 years and older.⁹

Cervical Cancer

• Nearly 4,000* women will die of cervical cancer in 2005.⁸
• An estimated 10,000* new cases will be diagnosed.⁸

Financial Costs of Cancer

In 2005, cancers will cost this country an estimated $210 billion overall,^† which includes nearly $136 billion for lost productivity and more than $70 billion for direct medical costs.

Each year,

• Colorectal cancer treatment costs about $6.5 billion.¹⁰
• Breast cancer treatment costs nearly $7 billion.¹⁰
• Cervical cancer treatment costs about $2 billion.¹⁰

Screening for Colorectal Cancer Lags Far Behind Screening for Other Cancers*

(A text version of this map is also available.)

* Percentage of adults 50 or older who had a fecal occult blood test within the previous year or a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the previous 10 years, as recommended.
Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

* Estimates from the American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2005.
† Estimates from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/04fackbk.pdf. Learn more about PDFs.

Cancer Screening Saves Lives

Early detection could substantially reduce the billions of dollars spent on cancer treatment each year. Not only does cancer screening save lives by detecting breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers early; it also is the first step in preventing many cases of colorectal and cervical cancers from ever developing:^3–5

• Routine screening can reduce the number of people who die of colorectal cancer by as much as 60% or more.³
• A mammogram every 1–2 years can reduce the risk of dying of breast cancer by approximately 20%–25% over 10 years for women aged 40 years or older.¹¹
• Pap tests can detect precancerous lesions so they can be treated before cervical cancer develops. Researchers in many countries found that rates of cervical cancer death dropped by 20%–60% after screening programs began.⁵

Cancer Screening: A Good Investment

Health economists generally agree that if an intervention can save 1 year of life for less than $50,000, it is cost-effective.¹² So in economic terms, screening for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancers is very cost-effective:

• Screening for colorectal cancer extends life at a cost of $11,890 to $29,725 per year of life saved.¹³
• Mammography every 2 years extends life for women aged 65 or older at a cost of about $36,924 per year of life saved.¹⁴
• Pap screening every 3 years extends life at a cost of about $5,392 per year of life saved.¹⁵

Effective Strategies

Nearly 2 million low-income women have been screened for cancer through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). The program gives underserved women better access to screening services so that cancer can be detected early. It also helps women with cancer diagnoses receive needed treatment. The program is currently in all 50 states, 4 U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and 13 American Indian/Alaska Native organizations. The NBCCEDP continues to establish, expand, and improve community-based screening and diagnostic services.

The Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign urges men and women aged 50 years or older to be screened regularly for colorectal cancer. The campaign was created by CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration), with technical assistance from the National Cancer Institute. State health departments, tribes and tribal organizations, and the District of Columbia use localized versions of the Screen for Life public service announcements and participate in community projects that use the campaign materials. As of April 2005, Screen for Life public service announcements had reached nearly 3 billion people with more than $20 million in donated print, radio, and television advertising.

Hope for the Future

Many American adults are alive and healthy today because they were screened for cancer, and every year more people are being screened. Estimates from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System ¹⁶ show

• Almost 41% of U.S. men and women aged 50 or older reported in 2002 that they had a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the last 5 years, compared with 34% in 1999.
• About 80% of U.S. women aged 50 or older reported in 2002 that they had a mammogram in the previous 2 years, compared with 64% in 1992.
• About 87% of U.S. women aged 18 or older reported in 2002 that they had a Pap test within the last 3 years, up from 84% in 1992.

For more information and references supporting these facts, visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp.
For additional copies of this document, E-mail ccdinfo@cdc.gov.

For more information and references supporting these facts, visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp.
For additional copies of this document, E-mail ccdinfo@cdc.gov.

Supporting References

1. Anderson RN, Smith BL. Deaths: leading causes for 2002. National Vital Statistics Reports 2005;53(17). Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics, 2005. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_17.pdf. Learn more about PDFs.
2. Jemal A, Clegg LX, Ward E, et al. Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975-2001. Cancer 2004;101(1):3-27. Available at http://seer.cancer.gov/report_to_nation/1975_2002/archive.html.
3. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Colorectal Cancer: Recommendations and Rationale. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2002. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/colorectal/colorr.pdf.  Learn more about PDFs.
4. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Breast Cancer: Recommendations and Rationale. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2002. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/breastcancer/brcanrr.pdf.  Learn more about PDFs.
5. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Cervical Cancer: Recommendations and Rationale. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2003. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/cervcan/cervcanrr.pdf.  Learn more about PDFs.
6. Swan J, Breen N, Coates RJ, Rimer BK, Lee NC. Progress in cancer screening practices in the United States: results from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey. Cancer 2003;97(6):1528-1540. Available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/103521394/ABSTRACT.
7. U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 2001 Incidence and Mortality. Atlanta, Georgia: Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, 2004. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/uscs/pdf/2002_USCS.pdf  (refer to Table D.1.2M and Table D.1.2F).  Learn more about PDFs.
8. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2005. Atlanta, Georgia: American Cancer Society; 2005. Available at http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2005f4PWSecured.pdf.*  Learn more about PDFs.
9. American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Detailed Guide. Atlanta, Georgia: American Cancer Society, 2004. Available at http://documents.cancer.org/104.00/104.00.pdf.*  Learn more about PDFs.
10. Brown ML, Lipscomb J, Snyder C. The burden of illness of cancer: Economic cost and quality of life. Annual Review of Public Health;22:91–113. (Note: The cost estimates were originally presented in 1996 U.S. dollars, which were updated to 2000 U.S. dollars using the Medical Care Component of the Consumer Price Index [MCPI].)
11. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. What’s New? Screening for Breast Cancer. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2002. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/breastcancer/brcannew.pdf.  Learn more about PDFs.
12. Gold MR, Siegel JE, Russell LB, Weinstein MC. Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
13. Pignone M, Saha S, Hoerger T, et al. Cost-effectiveness analyses of colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Annals of Internal Medicine;137(2):96–104.
14. Mandelblatt J, Saha S, Teutsch S, et al. The cost-effectiveness of screening mammography beyond age 65 years: a systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Annals of Internal Medicine;139(10):835–42.
15. McCrory, DC, Mather, DB, Bastian, L. et al. Evaluation of Cervical Cytology. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 5. Rockville, Maryland: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 1999. AHCPR publication no. 99–E010.
16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999 and 2002. Available at (Public Use Data Set) http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/technical_infodata/surveydata.htm

* Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.

For more information and references supporting these facts, visit www.cdc.gov/nccdphp. For additional copies of this document, E-mail ccdinfo@cdc.gov.

Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Page last reviewed: November 25, 2005
Page last modified: November 25, 2005
Content source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion