Cancer Screening Tests: Breast, Cervical, Colorectal and Lung

Screening means checking the body for cancer before any symptoms appear. Regular screening tests can catch breast, cervical, colorectal (colon) and lung cancers early, when treatment is most likely to work. CDC supports screening for these four cancers as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends.

Dr. Lisa Richardson, Dr. Robert W. Carlson and Dr. Laura Makaroff on why routine cancer screening matters. CDC.

Breast cancer

For many women, a mammogram is the best way to find breast cancer early, while it is easier to treat. A mammogram can detect a cancer before it is large enough to feel or to cause symptoms.

Cervical cancer

Two tests can help prevent cervical cancer or catch it early:

• The HPV test checks for human papillomavirus, the virus that can cause changes in the cells of the cervix.
• The Pap test, or Pap smear, looks for precancers: changes in cervical cells that could turn into cervical cancer if not properly treated.

Colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer almost always starts as precancerous polyps, abnormal growths in the colon or rectum. Screening can find these polyps so they can be removed before they become cancer, and it can also find cancer early, when treatment works best.

Lung cancer

The USPSTF recommends a yearly screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for people who meet all three of these conditions:

• have a history of heavy smoking, and
• smoke now or quit within the past 15 years, and
• are between 50 and 80 years old.

Cancers without a recommended screening

Screening for ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, testicular and thyroid cancers has not been shown to lower deaths from those cancers. For bladder, oral and skin cancers, the USPSTF found too little evidence to weigh the benefits and harms of screening people who have no symptoms.

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Cancer Screening Tests" (January 16, 2025). https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/prevention/screening.html
• CDC screening pages: breast https://www.cdc.gov/breast-cancer/screening/index.html; cervical https://www.cdc.gov/cervical-cancer/screening/index.html; colorectal https://www.cdc.gov/colorectal-cancer/screening/index.html; lung https://www.cdc.gov/lung-cancer/screening/index.html
• The film is the agency's own low-resolution copy, recovered from the Internet Archive's record of cdc.gov.