Use of screening tests to identify cancers before they cause symptoms can lead to earlier therapy and may improve outcomes. Screening tests for some common cancers are reviewed below.

Direct-to-consumer advertisements are urging women to be tested for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are the most common known causes of an inherited predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer. Clinically important BRCA mutations have been found in about 2% of Ashkenazi Jewish women, and are estimated to occur in about 1 in 300 to 500 women in the general non-Jewish US population. The prevalence appears to be lower in non-whites.

Use of screening tests to identify cancers before they cause symptoms can lead to earlier therapy and may improve outcomes. Screening tests for some common cancers are reviewed.