A screening test assesses the likelihood of having a disease. Examples include cervical smears (cervical cancer), PSA blood tests (prostate cancer) and cholesterol level (heart disease).
In general, screening tests do not diagnose the illness. Those who test positive require further evaluation with subsequent diagnostic tests.
Most screening tests target early detection. Early detection for many conditions saves lives, as treatment at an early stage will likely be more successful. Screening may also identify factors that increase your risk of disease, so that they can be addressed before the disease itself develops.
I often get asked about the risk of ‘false positives’- these are when a screening test can indicate a potential area of concern, which, following further investigation, turns out to not to be significant.
All screening tests have risks of both false positives and false negatives. We screen for conditions that would be otherwise be fatal, and therefore screening is an effective way to pick up potential problems early, when treatment is much more likely to be successful.
The Paul Strickland Scanner Centre in Northwood who we partner with is a world-renowned centre for Whole-Body MRI Scanning. They have completed the highest number of BW-MRI scans worldwide! Their deep expertise enables us to minimise the risks of false -positives and false negatives.