DETROIT, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Widespread false-positive results from cancer screening tests result in extra medical costs exceeding $1,000, Detroit researchers said in a study.
Among 1,087 individuals participating in a cancer screening trial who received a battery of tests for prostate, ovarian, colorectal and lung cancer, 43 percent had at least one false positive test result, said Dr. Jennifer Elston Lafata, director of the Center for Health Services Research at the Henry Ford Health System and lead author on the study.
Men who incurred a false positive result for prostate, lung or colorectal cancer averaged $1,171 in additional medical care expenditures compared to men with all negative screens. More than half, 51 percent, of the men in the study had at least one false positive test.
For women, 36 percent had false positive screening results. Women with a false positive screen for ovarian, colorectal or lung cancer experienced $1,024 more in follow-up medical care expenses compared to women with all negative results.
The study is published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
