[Chances and risks of prevention in elderly people for the three major cancers: breast-, prostate- and colorectal cancers].

The big three, breast cancer (BC), prostate cancer (PC) and colorectal carcinoma are the most frequent malignancies world wide and also typical tumors of advanced age. Therefore the question to screen and how to screen for these tumors in the elderly is the main question for reduction of the total cancer burden and mortality in all western countries. BREAST CANCER (BC): The age related risk of BC increases from 1 : 2,500 at age 30+ to > 1 : 10 at age 80. Nevertheless, most of the national BC-Screening-Programs stop at age 60 or earlier. Therefore the majority of all advanced i. e. T (4) stages of BC are found in women age > 60. Frequently it is suggested that age related comorbidity should eliminate the benefit of treatment. Recently two longitudinal studies have clearly shown that correct standard treatment is as effective in elderly as in younger individuals. Mammography (MG) has been shown to reduce mortality of BC significantly with best results for specificity and sensitivity at age 70+. PROSTATE CANCER (PC): The screening situation of PC is quite different to BC, because risk profiles are poorly defined and the benefit of radical prostatectomy is not clearly demonstrated in the early non symptomatic stages of PC. At the other side watchful waiting leads to an elevated frequency of incontinence and enuresis as well. Two studies are now under progress and may possibly change the situation; but the final results are expected 2005-2008 at the earliest. Therefore an assisted individual decision making is the only recommendation at this time. COLORECTAL CANCER (CC): Risk groups are clearly defined. Risk of the elderly (> 60) is the average risk. The incidence increases from < 50/10 (5) to more than 500 at age 75+(male) and 500 (female). When to start and when to stop screening? Experts give the advice to begin at age 50 and to end at age 80; but this is not really evidence based. There are several unanswered questions and open problems: we are not exactly informed about complication rates of colonoscopy during the screening programs. There is a lack of data according accuracy of barium enema, virtual colonoscopy and genetic stool test in comparison to colonoscopy in combination with fecal occult blood test (FOBT). And adherence to screening is not well documented among informed patients. However, effectiveness of CC-screening (FOBT alone or in combination with colonoscopy) has been documented in three high randomised trials which have shown a disease specific mortality reduction of 15-33 % over a period of 8-13 years. But it must be clear that the economic resources must be mobilised individually or by insurance: offering the testing of only FOBT for ten years to one thousand persons can save one life.