Press Release on Screening of the Public using laboratory tests - Borneo Post, Aug 21, 1998. Screening of the public for disease through indiscriminate use of laboratory tests is of dubious value.
Tests can have false negative and false positive results.
For example, normal tumour marker results do not mean that the patient is not suffering from cancer, because many cancers do not produce tumour markers. Conversely, a positive result does not necessary mean that cancer is present because many non-cancerous conditions can give rise to a positive result. The same holds true for tests for so-called heart, kidney and liver diseases. Laboratory tests should be used as part of the medical examination to clarify clinical findings or suspicions. Tests should be interpreted by a medically-qualified doctor and counselling offered.