(Effect of screening on cervical cancer mortality in England and Wales: analysis of trends with an age period cohort model)

In this week's BMJ a paper written by Dr Peter Sasieni and Joanna Adams from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund supports recent findings of a beneficial effect of the national cervical screening programme. The authors say that before the relaunch of the programme in 1988 screening had a minimal effect on mortality, but since its relaunch screening appears to have reduced cervical cancer mortality by over 60 per cent in those aged under 55 years (up until 1997). They estimate that 1300 lives were saved in 1997 by screening in previous years.

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Dr Peter Sasieni, Senior Scientist, Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London [email protected] Further Evidence on the Effect of the National Cervical Screening Programme In this week's BMJ, researchers support recent findings of a beneficial effect of the national cervical screening programme. The authors say that since its relaunch screening appears to have reduced cervical cancer mortality by over 60 per cent in those aged under 55 years.