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Many health organizations recommend against routine cancer screening in patients with short life expectancies (generally, <10 years), but inappropriately high screening rates persist (NEJM JW Gen Med Mar 20 2014). Investigators assessed self-reported cancer screening in about 27,000 older adults (age, ≥65) who were queried periodically between 2000 and 2010. A validated instrument was used to calculate 9-year mortality risk for each participant, and participants were grouped from low (<25%) to very high (≥75%) risk.
Overall screening rates for prostate, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer declined with increasing 9-year mortality risk, but recent screening occurred at relatively high rates (55%, 38%, 31%, and 41%, respectively) among pat…