Study: Tests for breast, ovarian cancer on rise

There has been a dramatic increase in the use of medical screening tests for breast and cervical cancer over the past two decades, but only a small increase in colon cancer testing, a new study shows.

The study, appearing Wednesday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that more than 67 percent of women aged 40 and older in 1998 had received a mammography within a two-year period.

That is more than double the 30 percent that took the breast cancer screening test in 1987, the study found.

About 80 percent of women reported having Pap smears in 1998, compared to 74 percent in 1987, according to the study. Pap smears are used to detect cervical cancer.

Screening tests for colon cancer, however, did not increase at the same rate over the two decades and men were more likely to be tested than women, the study showed.

The researchers found that only 30 percent of women over age 50 and about 37.1 percent of men of the same age were screened for colon cancer using any test technique during 1998.

The study found that medical insurance coverage, educational and income levels, and having a regular, routine source of medical care all increased the likelihood of having regular cancer screening tests.

This pattern of poorly utilized medical testing “must be addressed if utilization of screening is to achieve levels required to reduce cancer mortality, its ultimate goal,” the study authors said.

The study is based on data from questionaires distributed to households in the National Health Interview Survey. The authors are researchers at the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Health Statistics. The data included about 20,000 responses.