ABSTRACT
Interest in cancer has grown during the past century as infectious diseases have increasingly been controlled as the result of improved sanitation, vaccinations, and antibiotics. Although the interest is recent, cancer is not a new disease. It has existed for many centuries. According to worldwide cancer mortality statistics in 2012, it was estimated that there were 8.2 million deaths reported due to cancer. The world age standardized mortality rate shows that there are about 126 cancer deaths for every 100,000 men in the world, and 83 for every 100,000 females. In 2012, there were an estimated 14.1 million new cases of cancer in the world: 7.4 million (53%) in males and 6.7 million (47%) in females, giving a male:female ratio of 10:9. Survival rates are approximately 50%. However, early detection followed by appropriate treatment can increase cure rates to about 80%, and greatly improve quality of life by minimizing extensive, debilitating treatments. Hence, screening and early diagnosis play an important role in the prevention and treatment of cancer. This chapter describes the importance of early detection of cancer and screening methods of cancer both by self as well by the clinician. Also, various noninvasive diagnostic methods are described.
