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Objectives In August 2008 the British reality TV star Jade Goody made public her diagnosis of cervical cancer. In February 2009 it was announced that she was terminally ill and she died a few weeks later. A surge in cervical screening attendances associated with these events was widely reported. This paper aims to quantify the size of that effect across England, its duration, and whether it affected some groups of women more than others. Setting The Cervical Screening Programme in England. Methods Routinely collected statistics for the months around Jade Goody's diagnosis and death were compared with those for other periods. Results About half a million extra cervical screening attendances occurred in England between mid-2008 and mid-2009, the period during which Jade Goody was diagnosed and died; among these were 370 attendances where the test result was suspected neoplasia. At its peak in March 2009, attendance was 70% higher than expected. Increases were seen in both initial and follow-up screening attendances and in colposcopy attendances, and at all ages, though the magnitude was greater for women aged under 50. A substantially greater proportion of the extra attendances of women aged 25-49 on routine recall occurred in women whose attendance was overdue (28% occurred at 60 months or more) and relatively little represented over-screening (8% had been screened within the last 30 months). Conclusions The pattern of increased attendance mirrored the pattern of media coverage of Jade Goody's diagnosis and death. It is likely that the increased screening resulted in a number of lives saved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To analyse cervical screening coverage data by age over time in a number of developed countries throughout the world, with specific emphasis on trends for younger women and on age differentials between younger and older women. Methods Routinely collected cervical screening statistics and survey data were collected on the proportion of women who have undergone cervical screening with cytology in seven countries in the period 1995 to 2005. Results Data for the 25-29 age group were examined. Coverage fell in most countries, in three by more than 5 percentage points. In two countries while overall coverage rose in the period, the rise was not as steep in the youngest group of women. Data for each available 5-year age group for the different countries shows a similar gradient in most, regardless of the absolute level of coverage. Although the trend is not uniform in every country, it appears that generally the gap between coverage of younger women and coverage of older women increased, sometimes dramatically, between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s. Conclusions There is a general trend in developed countries towards lower coverage in young women (25-29 years old). No common underlying cause has been clearly identified and there is a need for further studies to investigate the possible reasons for this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Screening for colorectal cancer by biennial testing for faecal occult blood is being introduced in the UK from 2007. We examine the likely impact of the programme, in terms of reduced mortality, lives saved and changes in incidence, over the next 20 years. Setting Projections of incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in England, and the policy that has been adopted for screening in England (biennial at ages 60-69 from 2007, then 60-74 in 2010). Methods The results are based on the output of a simulation model that has been used to examine cost-effectiveness of screening policy options, with two scenarios regarding compliance with screening; both assume that 20% of the population will never attend for screening, but attendance of those who do is modelled either as a random 60% or 80%, at each screening round. Results The decrease in mortality rates expected 20 years after introducing screening is 13-17% in men and 12-15% in women (depending on the attendance levels). The model predicts an initial rise in incidence, followed (after six to seven years) by a fall, so that there is little net change in the number of cases detected over a 20-year period. Conclusion Percentage changes in mortality seem modest, but the projected saving in terms of numbers of lives is not negligible - 1800-2400 per year by 2025 in England (equivalent numbers are 2200-2700 in all over the UK). Newer screening modalities may improve on these projected results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To present results from the UK NHS breast screening programme (NHSBSP) for the six-year period from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2005, and to compare these with targets. METHODS: Data are collected annually from all UK screening units on standard KC62 return forms. RESULTS: The prevalence of screen-positive cancer (cancer detection rate) has increased at both rounds during the six-year period. At the incident round, cancer detection rates increased by 24%, from 5.4 per 1000 in 2000 to 6.7 per 1000 in 2005 and the detection of small cancers (< or = 10 mm) has increased by 40%. Generally, quality measures in the programme continue to improve. However, while rates of recall at the incident screen decreased from 3.8% in 2000 to 3.6% in 2005, at the prevalent round, in 2005, 22% of units continued to recall more than 10% of women to assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the performance of the programme continues to improve. In the future, analysis of data on interval cancers will assist the interpretation of cancer detection rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the pilot trial demonstration which is conducted by the National Screening Committee (NSC) to find out the feasibility of a colorectal screening program in Great Britain. The demonstration includes the examination of an extensive range of expert opinion and the study of usable evidences. It determines that colorectal cancer screening through faecal occult blood testing met the NSC criteria for evaluating the viability, effectivity and suitability of a screening program.

Objective To present results from the NHS breast screening programme (NHSBSP) from 1994 through to 1999 and to examine the extent to which interim targets are being achieved. Methods Data were collated from all screening programmes in the UK on standard statistical returns. Performance of the screening programme was evaluated using calculated targets based on comparison with the Swedish two counties (STC) randomised controlled trial. Results In the early years of screening (1988–1993), the NHS programme was detecting more DCIS but considerably less invasive cancers than expected, based on the STC trial. Since the screening year 1993/94 (1 April to 31 March) the standardised detection ratio (SDR) measure of the detection of invasive cancers has increased by 36% from 0.83 to 1.13. The SDR has been greater than 1 since 1996/97 suggesting that the NHSBSP has only been screening as efficiently as the STC trial since this date. Uptake for screening has been relatively stable over time at approximately 75%. Conclusions The NHSBSP has made considerable advances in performance since its inception in 1988 and screening uptake and age standardised invasive cancer detection rates are (by 1999) well in excess of targets. The early years of screening were characterised by good uptake but a low sensitivity for the detection of invasive cancers. It is anticipated that the screening programme will have an increasing impact on breast cancer mortality, particularly in the 55–69 year age group over the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study is to analyse cervical screening coverage data over time. Methods: Routinely collected cervical screening statistics, in England, on the proportion of women who have undergone cervical screening with cytology during the preceding five years. The participants included all women residents eligible for cervical screening. Results: Overall coverage remained at about 82% or over between 1995 and 2000. Since 2000, however, coverage has drifted slowly down to just over 80% in 2005. Coverage has long been observed to be related to age. In 2005, the coverage rate was 71% in women aged 25–29, 83% in those aged 35–54 and 75% in those aged 55–64. Comparing coverage by age in the three years, 1995 – 2000 and 2005 – shows broad conformity with this pattern in each of the three years, but overlaid is the fact that at ages below 50, the rate has been falling while at ages above 55, the rate has been rising. The fall in screening coverage appears to be largely a cohort effect, with women born in the 1960s and later being increasingly less likely to participate. Conclusions: No specific reason for this effect is evident. Action could be targeted at women aged 25–34 to address falling coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information related to the 1997-98 statistical bulletin on the cervical screening programme of the National Health Service of Great Britain. The program was published in England at the end of January 1999 by Great Britain's Department of Health. The program gained around 85% coverage of the target population.