Imaging and screening strategies in oncology

This paper aims to discuss the role of diagnostic imaging in screening protocols for early detection of cancer of the breast, colon and rectum, prostate and lung. The latest attitude of scientists and public health managers towards screening programmes is mainly driven by evidence results, but randomised trials are often difficult to start due to ethical reasons, and difficult to conclude because of the merging new technologies and the long time required. While mammography, even if sometimes controversial, is nowadays a consolidated tool for early diagnosis of breast cancer, other diagnostic techniques, such as low-dose computed tomography for detection of lung cancer, need to prove their efficacy and avoid extended times required to obtain evidence-based results.