By the way . . . can we future-proof against cancer?

CANCER statistics are scary. The disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe and the second biggest killer of humankind. According to the World Health Organisation the number of new cases is set to spiral by a staggering 70% in the next two decades.

A recent paper from the world-renowned cancer hospital The Marsden in London put using MRIs to scan people for cancer to the test. It’s really only in the past decade that MRIs have become widely available. When I was training as a doctor, the first MRI scanner arrived in Dublin. Now we have reached the stage where you can effectively buy yourself an MRI if you so wish. Most people admittedly only opt for this if they are anxious, waiting lengthy periods for a scan on the health service, or have health insurance. But what about those who don’t have symptoms, but want a screen to determine their health?

The latest research took 44 people with a high-risk cancer gene, which increased their chances of sarcoma, breast and brain tumours, adrenal gland tumours and blood cancers. These patients often get more than one cancer each and the cancers occur 20-30 years before they would in the normal population. They were pitched against 44 healthy patients matched for sex and age. None of the groups had symptoms.

The results detected cancers in 10% of the group with the faulty gene and none in the healthy group. What they also found were non-malignant abnormalities in one third of the cancer-prone group and 16% of the healthy group. These went on to have further tests, all of which required radiation.

The moral of the story based on this study is that at present whole body MRIs for cancer detection should only be used for high-risk patients. The rest of us would be better served by improving our stats through improving our lifestyles. One in every three cancer deaths is attributed to excess weight, poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking or alcohol consumption.

After the expense and the indulgence of the Easter weekend, surely today is as good a day as any to start cancer proofing yourself…. no scan required.