Cancer report needs more study, two U of L doctors say

LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Two cancer doctors at the University of Louisville say proposed guidelines on diagnosing and treating cancer need to be studied further before the medical community makes any changes.

The report including those guidelines, titled, "Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment: An Opportunity for Improvement," was published Monday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

It says doctors and patients need to understand that overdiagnosing is common with cancer screenings. That involves detecting tumors that would not be dangerous if left untreated.

The report also suggests dropping the term "cancer" to describe some conditions not likely to be fatal. It also suggests providing patients with more information and options for treatment.

But Doctors Jason Chesney and Anthony Dragun of the University of Louisville say the report does not take into account all the factors involved in defining and diagnosing cancer. Dr. Chesney is Deputy Director of the Brown Cancer Center and Medical Director of its clinical research trials office. Dr. Dragun is Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Radiation Oncology.

They criticize the idea of not calling some conditions "cancer." "The problem with reclassifying pre-cancerous lesions as non-cancer is that we are confident that a certain percentage will, in fact, develop into full-blown cancer even with definitive therapy," Chesney said in a news release. His advice: "For now, I recommend that patients continue to receive screening as directed by their physicians, and let evidence guide future potential withdrawals in screening practices and the war on cancer."

Dr. Dragun said, "In terms of breast cancer – and DCIS in particular – we are at a point in history where these lesions are being detected earlier and earlier. Thus, we are entering an era where minimally invasive surgery should be the norm and non-surgical therapies should be investigated."