Community Practice Connections™: Altering the Course of Cancer in Primary Care—Early Detection for Better Long-Term Outcomes

Target Audience

This educational activity is directed toward primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other health care professionals involved in screening patients for cancer. Other health care professionals interested in screening tests for cancer are invited to participate.

Activity Overview

A number of patient-related and health care-related barriers reduce the uptake of cancer screening, and guideline-supported screenings are not available for some particularly deadly cancer types. This Community Practice Connections™ program provides an in-depth review of some of the key highlights from a live virtual symposium on early cancer detection by blood testing, which was held on October 14, 2020. This unique and engaging multimedia activity is ideal for the community-based clinician and focuses on the development of multicancer screening tests and the role of the primary care provider in early cancer screening. The program is designed for those who did not attend the live meeting and to help to reinforce learnings for those who did.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, you should be better prepared to:

Discuss the potential role of blood testing in detecting cancer in the primary care setting, including appropriate patient selection
Review biomarkers targeted by blood testing in cancer detection
Evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of blood tests for cancer detection
Use patient-centered approaches to effectively incorporate blood testing in the screening and diagnosis of patients with cancer