Dr. Colm Henry:

That is correct. We heard today, as well as from other useful discussions in other fora, about expectations concerning screening programmes. They are not set up or designed to diagnose all cancers. Part of the relative risks and benefits of a screening programme is that one is persuading healthy people to undergo a test to identify something before a serious intervention is required or a life-threatening illness develops. In doing so, the test cannot be overly sensitive in that it will then subject many people to unnecessary tests, investigations and possibly adverse events.

Our group will be comparing other systems and examining the relative need to allow a screening programme to thrive and flourish with the expectations people have regarding cancer audits as part of the quality assurance programme and what they need to be told. It is not an easy question. Other healthcare systems are facing the same question and are looking at great interest at the problems we are facing. There is no easy answer to this.