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editorial
. 2015 Nov 5;36:8. doi: 10.1186/s40985-015-0012-1

Table 2.

Key messages

• Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of a condition that is not associated with a substantial health hazard; it causes overtreatment.
• Screening is a major cause of overdiagnosis.
• Patients and physicians should be informed about risk of overdiagnosis associated with screening. Targeted screening, active surveillance, and prognosis estimation allow prevention of overdiagnosis and of overtreatment.
• Research is needed to assess the public health burden of overdiagnosis due to screening activity.