Benefits of screening cancer patients for distress still not demonstrated

In the randomised controlled trial reported by Carlson et al (2012) , screening cancer patients for distress was followed by one of the two different triages: computerised vs personalised. The authors concluded that screening for distress is ‘a viable intervention that has the potential to decrease symptom burden up to 12 months post diagnosis.’ It is not clear what is meant by ‘viable’ in this context, but this study provided no resolution of the more basic question of whether screening improves patient outcomes relative to the results achieved in routine care without screening.