Health task force blasted over ‘dangerous guidance’ for cancer screenings

Medical experts from radiologists to urologists are calling for an urgent need to reform the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care for its 'outdated screening guidelines.'

Medical experts are sounding the alarm about the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, branding the group’s cancer screening guidelines as “dangerous” and “deplorable.”

Speaking at a Monday media conference, a group of medical experts ranging from radiologists to urologists talked about the urgent need to reform the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care for its “outdated screening guidelines,” arguing that hundreds of Canadians are needlessly dying and suffering as a result.

“I regularly see patients who ask to be screened, only to be denied due to the task force recommendation and ultimately presented with an incurable stage of the disease. These patients feel let down by the system, and their physicians live with enormous regret,” said Dr. Fred Saad, a urological oncologist and the director of prostate cancer research at the Montreal Cancer Institute.

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care is an independent, federally appointed body that sets national guidelines used by family doctors to determine what kind of health screening patients require. The recommendations include guidelines for screening ages of mammograms, colonoscopies and prostate and lung cancer.

According to its website, the task force comprises 15 primary care and prevention experts across Canada, such as family physicians, mental health experts and pediatricians. The task force’s goal is to create guidelines for health professionals, such as physicians, nurses, nutritionists, physician specialists, policymakers, and even Canadian citizens.

“The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care develops rigorous, evidence-based preventive health care guidelines based on the principles of impartiality, collaboration, and inclusivity. It applies international best practices for evidence review and guideline development used by guideline panels around the world,” a task force spokesperson told Global News in an email on Monday.

However, some medical experts say the guidelines do nothing but confuse physicians. For example, a provincial guideline may advise starting screening for breast cancer at age 40, but the task force recommends age 50.

Dr. Shushiela Appavoo, a physician and spokesperson for the Coalition for Responsible Healthcare Guidelines, said she is “deeply disturbed” by the guidelines set forth by the task force.