Physicians personally linked to cancer 18% more likely to recommend additional screening

Physicians who have a personal connection to cancer are 17.8 percent more likely to act against established guidelines and recommend cancer screening for low-risk patients, specifically ovarian cancer screening to women, according to a study published Aug. 10 in the Journal of Women’s Health.  

“Most doctors are pretty comfortable with the idea that our personal experience can make a positive impact on our practice—we’ve known someone and so it gives us insight into how to take care of patients in similar circumstances,” said lead author Margaret Ragland, MD, pulmonary critical care specialist at CUHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, in a prepared statement. "This study helps us realize that sometimes it can go beyond that."  

For low-risk patients, the potential harm of cancer screening outweighs benefits. The cost and chance of false-positive results could lead to anxiety or unnecessary treatments for the patient, Ragland explained. She noted this as the reason why women of average risk are not recommended for ovarian cancer screening.  

For Ragland and colleagues' study, a survey with an annual examination vignette and questions about ovarian cancer screening recommendations were sent to 3,200 U.S. family physicians, general internists, and obstetrician-gynecologists. Of those, 497 completed the survey.  

In all, 31.8 percent who had personal experience of cancer chose to offer this screening to low-risk ovarian cancer patients, the researchers found. In comparison, only 14 percent of doctors without personal experience of cancer offered screening.   

“We’re physicians, but we also have life experiences,” Ragland said. “What this study tells us is that in ways we may not be aware, for better and for worse, our personal experience may affect our practice.” 

The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “with the goal of discovering characteristics of providers that might be at the greatest risk of recommending care that conflicts with guidelines,” according to a University of Colorado Cancer Center press release published Aug. 17.