Screening recommendations indicate continuing screening beyond age 74 only if what is true?

• A. If the patient has no risk factors
• B. If life expectancy is greater than 10 years
• C. If the patient has a family history
• D. If the patient requests it

Answer: (B)

The main idea is balancing benefits and harms of screening within a person's remaining lifespan. Continuing screening beyond age 74 is considered only if the person is likely to live more than about 10 years, because benefits from detecting cancer early take time to translate into reduced mortality, and the risks of screening (procedural risks, false positives, anxiety) accrue now. If life expectancy is over 10 years, the potential benefit justifies ongoing screening; if it’s not, the net benefit is unlikely, so stopping is appropriate. Choices based solely on having no risk factors, a family history, or a patient asking for it don’t by themselves justify continuing, since they don’t address the actual horizon of benefit.