Cervical screening in the United Kingdom

J Cuzick, P Sasieni
Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 61 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, United Kingdom

It has been more than 10 years since the cervical screening system in the United Kingdom was completely overhauled and a computerised call and recall system was introduced. The current programme is very healthy and dramatic improvements have been made over the past decade. The coverage of the screening programme in England has improved, and incidence and mortality rates have been reduced. Further improvements in compliance, rigorous auditing, and new technologies will likely yield more accurate, efficient, and cost-effective screening programmes in the next decade.

Hong Kong Med J 1999;5:269-71

Key words: Cervix neoplasms/diagnosis; Mass screening; Quality control; Vaginal smears