Abstract Background Cancer screening looks for early signs of cancer in people who do not currently exhibit symptoms. However, screening can also identify abnormalities that do not progress to produce symptoms or death. This could include the identification of tumours, which stop growing or grow very slowly; patients usually die with them rather than from them. We systematically reviewed the literature to investigate the harmful consequences of cancer overdiagnosis in multi-morbid patients. Methods We followed the PRISMA reporting guidelines and registered the review with PROSPERO (CRD42024475175). A Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome and Study design (PICOS) framework was used as an organising framework. Peer-reviewed studies were included except case series, case report reviews and conference abstracts. Four large databases (Medline, Embase, APA Psych INFO and Scopus) were searched in Nov23 using appropriate keywords grouped into categories: multimorbidity, overdiagnosis, patient harms, cancer screening. Titles were screened according to the eligibility criteria and their quality assessed. Studies needed to have investigated the extent of harm caused by overdiagnosis (e.g., overtreatment). Results A total of 200 articles were retrieved, with seven meeting our inclusion criteria. All included studies were based in the US. Breast and prostate cancer overdiagnosis was reported to be 15% higher in multimorbid populations compared to the average-risk population. Multimorbid individuals were more vulnerable to the harms of cancer overdiagnosis, with psychological, physical and financial harms reported. Conclusions These findings contribute valuable insights into the intricate interplay between comorbidities, cancer overdiagnosis, and associated harms. Radical treatment interventions in multi-morbid patients can carry greater risk of complications. Current screening guidelines only address average-risk populations; future guidelines need to reflect these findings. Key messages • Cancer overdiagnosis was found to be higher in multimorbid populations compared to the average-risk population. • Multimorbid individuals are also more vulnerable to the harms of cancer overdiagnosis.
Read full abstract