There is a growing recognition among medical professionals that cancer screening is a double-edged sword. While some individuals may benefit from early detection, others may be falsely diagnosed and treated for cancer unnecessarily. To make good decisions about screening, the public needs to know its potential benefits and harms. The following two paragraphs are taken from a study to test physicians' ability to interpret clinical laboratory results. To diagnose colorectal cancer, the hemoccult test is conducted to detect occult blood in the stool. For symptom-free people over 50 years old who participate in screening using the hemoccult test, the following information is available. The probability that one of these people has colorectal cancer is 0.3 percent. If a person has colorectal cancer, the probability is 50 percent that he will have a positive hemoccult test. If a person does not have colorectal cancer, the probability is 3 percent that he will still have a positive hemoccult test. Imagine a person (over age 50, no symptoms) who has a positive hemoccult test in your screening. What is the probability that this person actually has colorectal cancer?

There is a growing recognition among medical professionals that cancer screening is a double-edged sword. While some individuals may benefit from early detection, others may be falsely diagnosed and treated for cancer unnecessarily. To make good decisions about screening, the public needs to know its potential benefits and harms. The following two paragraphs are taken from a study to test physicians' ability to interpret clinical laboratory results. To diagnose colorectal cancer, the hemoccult test is conducted to detect occult blood in the stool. For symptom-free people over 50 years old who participate in screening using the hemoccult test, the following information is available. The probability that one of these people has colorectal cancer is 0.3 percent. If a person has colorectal cancer, the probability is 50 percent that he will have a positive hemoccult test. If a person does not have colorectal cancer, the probability is 3 percent that he will still have a positive hemoccult test. Imagine a person (over age 50, no symptoms) who has a positive hemoccult test in your screening. What is the probability that this person actually has colorectal cancer?

Glencoe Algebra 1, Student Edition, 9780079039897, 0079039898, 2018

18th Edition

ISBN:9780079039897

Author:Carter

Publisher:Carter

Chapter10: Statistics

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 13PT

See similar textbooks