Cancer Surveillance of High-risk People Saves Lives and Money
Techonology Networks | February 05, 2019
New research published in the journal Pediatric Blood and Cancer shows how early cancer screening and surveillance in patients with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) results in additional years of life and is cost effective for third-party payers. LFS is an inherited genetic condition that greatly increases the risk of developing several types of cancer. People diagnosed with LFS have a one in two chance of developing cancer by 30, and a nearly 100 percent risk of developing cancer in their lifetime, compared to the lifetime cancer risk of the average person of almost 40 percent.
The study, led by Joshua Schiffman, MD, cancer researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah (U of U), in collaboration with Casey Tak, PhD, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, looked at data throughout the lifetimes of patients who were diagnosed with LFS. The researchers examined the cumulative costs and life expectancy for these high-risk patients, comparing those who received cancer surveillance with those who did not.