In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter and Bob dive deep into cancer screening, including why it’s important, what you need to know about a test, and Peter’s approach with patients. They specifically discuss various screening methods, explain important terms like sensitivity and specificity, and how layering and stacking different tests in tandem can improve predictive values. They conclude with a discussion on one of the more exciting screening tools, diffusion-weighted MRI, and how it’s changing the cancer screening landscape.

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We discuss:

The importance of cancer screening [1:15];
Cancer screening terms: sensitivity, specificity, false positives, and false negatives [8:25];
Cancer screening terms: positive and negative predictive value [17:00];
Improving predictive value by layering tests, and the predictive values of mammograms [25:45];
How smoking impacts the predictive value of cancer screening [30:45];
Liquid biopsies for ruling out cancer and the blind spots of common cancer screening tests [33:00];
The difference between cancer originating from inside versus outside the body [41:15];
How diffusion-weighted MRI is changing cancer screening [45:15];
Summary of Peter’s approach to cancer screening [53:45]; and
More.

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Show notes page for this episode: https://peterattiamd.com/ama25

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#170 - AMA #25: Navigating the complexities and nuances of cancer screening

The Peter Attia Drive