Highlights

• Multiple studies support the life-saving value of mammography in breast cancer screening. The frequency of mammography and other tests should be based on an assessment of the individual patient’s risk of breast cancer.

• Screening for colorectal cancer can be accomplished via a number of procedures or through stool testing. Fecal immunochemical testing is more sensitive than guaiac-based fecal occult blood testing.

• More than 99% of all cervical cancers are positive for human papillomavirus (HPV). A vaccine against HPV is now available.

• Tdap (tetanus toxoid, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine) is recommended for all unvaccinated health care professionals as a means of preventing nosocomial outbreaks of pertussis.

• In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an inactivated recombinant varicella zoster vaccine that is far more effective than the previous zoster vaccine for prevention of clinical zoster in patients over age 50.

• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends one-time testing for hepatitis C for all persons born in the United States between 1945 and 1965. Many individuals are unaware that they have a chronic, asymptomatic infection with the hepatitis C virus.

Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 1 - Update on General Medicine. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.