Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to examine the present status of cancer screening recommendations(beginning age, interval, recommended screening methods, etc.) by physicians and analyze the association between physician's characteristics and the content of their recommendations. METHODS: Data were collected from March 1 to April 30 of 1997, and 373 physicians who were from different hospital settings all over Korea were interviewed by telephone about their screening recommendations for stomach, cervical and breast cancer for those who provided cancer screening services. RESULTS: For stomach cancer screening, respondents recommended that cancer screening begin at 40 years of age(57.8%), with a 1 year interval(77.2%), and by gastrofibroscopy (86.2%). For cervical cancer screening, respondents recommended that cancer screening begin at 25 years of age(42.0%), with a 1 year interval(67.8%), and by using a Pap smear(100.0%). For breast cancer screening, respondents recommended that cancer screening begin at 35 years of age(38.7%), with a 1 year interval(57.3%), and by mammography (97.3%). CONCLUSIONS: To establish appropriate cancer screening recommendations for Korea, it may be useful to consider the above results concerning medical care providers.

• Keywords: Mass screeningStomach cancerBreast cancerCervical cancer