96 Can we detect overdiagnosis early? exploring indicators of possible overdiagnosis outside cancer screening contexts

Abstract

Although the risk of overdiagnosis in cancer screening was identified almost 50 years ago, evidence of cancer overdiagnosis was slow to emerge, and has required development of new approaches and study designs. As a result, responses to mitigate overdiagnosis, and to inform the public and professionals, have been delayed. This meant cancer screening activities became well established in clinical practice and policy before the problem overdiagnosis was recognised, making reversal difficult.

It would be beneficial to avoid repeating the same delays outside the cancer setting – whether in the context of screening programs (eg gestational diabetes screening among pregnant women) or in managing already symptomatic patients (e.g. children with ADHD symptoms, adults with joint pain) – so that timely policy responses to overdiagnosis in these settings can be developed. We therefore aimed to identify early ‘indicators’ of potential overdiagnosis.