CTFPHC Guidline Announcement

by Katie Elder | Dec 14, 2018

 

On December 10th, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care published its newest set of recommendations on screening for breast cancer in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ): http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/49/E144. This guideline is an update to the Task Force’s 2011 breast cancer guideline, emphasizing shared decision-making between women and their health care providers as well as the importance of individual values and preferences in screening decisions.

 

This guideline acknowledges that breast cancer screening by mammography identifies breast cancer earlier and leads to a reduction in the risk of breast cancer mortality; however, such screening also leads to known harms including false positive results, further testing and possible breast biopsy, as well as overdiagnosis resulting in unnecessary treatment and potential associated complications. The most recent evidence examined by the Task Force continues to show a close balance between these potential benefits and harms. The newest recommendations work towards capturing this nuance, calling for improved evidence and clearer guidance on shared decision-making in primary care.

 

See the CMAJ commentary accompanying the guideline here: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/49/E1432

 

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care is chaired by Dr. Brett Thombs, with Katharine Elder acting as the Task Force Administrator and Daniela Cortinovis as the Task Force Project Manager.

 

The Task Force was established to develop clinical practice guidelines that support primary care providers in delivering preventive health care. The mandate of the Task Force is to develop and disseminate clinical practice guidelines for primary and preventive care, based on systematic analysis of scientific evidence. For more information, please visit: https://canadiantaskforce.ca