North West Cervical Screening Quality Assurance Reference Centre
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The effectiveness of cervical screening

Whilst cervical screening cannot be 100% effective, cervical screening programmes have been shown to significantly reduce the cumulative incidence of cancer in a population of women.

Reduction in Cumulative incidence of Cervical Cancer
Screening interval
Reduction Incidence
Single screen
20%
5 yearly
83.6%
3 yearly
91.2%
Annual
93.3%

Coverage of the target population

One way in which the effectiveness of the programme can be judged is, by coverage. This is the percentage of women in the target age group (25 to 64) who have been screened in the last five years. If overall coverage of 80% can be achieved, the evidence suggests that a reduction in death rates of 65 to 70% is possible in the long term. Coverage of the target age group by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme has increased from 45% in 1988-89 to 78.6% in 2007-2008.


Summary of coverage of target age group (25-64) by region, 31st March 2008

Area
Number of eligible women (000's)
Coverage (less than 3.5 years since last test) (%)
Coverage (less than 5 years since last test) (%)
East Midlands
1082.8
74.3
82.4
Yorkshire & Humber
1286.5
68.0
79.8
North East
646.1
72.3
80.0
South East Coast
1090.0
71.9
80.6
South Central
1046.2
68.2
78.7
South West
1283.0
68.6
80.4
East of England
1433.8
68.3
79.3
West Midlands
1362.0
70.6
78.7
North West
1751.2
69.4
78.2
London
2323.5
64.7
73.4
ENGLAND
13305.2
69.0
78.6


 
NHS Cancer Screening Programmes

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