West Midlands Cervical Screening Programme

Facts about Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer has become a rare disease because of the effectiveness of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.  It is important, however, for women to continue to attend so that this achievement is maintained and the numbers of cases of cancer reduced further.  Each year around 2,800 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in England and Wales and about 940 women die from the disease.  Research estimates that up to 4500 lives will be saved each year in England by cervical screening.

In the West Midlands, around 350,000 women attend for cervical screening each year. Of these, around 7.8% will have an abnormal smear. In 1988 at the beginning of the Cervical Screening Programme, approximately 500 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer; in 2007 this had reduced to approximately 260.  In 2007, 76% of invasive cervical cancers occurring in the West Midlands were diagnosed in women who were eligible for screening at the time of diagnosis (aged 25-65).  Despite being eligible, approximately 60% had either never attended or not attended for their most recent invitation to screening.  The majority of women who do regularly attend for screening and are diagnosed with cervical cancer are likely to have their disease identified at a very early stage when it is much easier to treat and has the best possible chance of a complete cure.  Regional and national screening data can be obtained from the Cervical Screening bulletin by clicking on
NHS Community Health Statistics 2008/09 (published Oct 2009)
NHS Community Health Statistics 2007/08 (published Oct 2008)

Cervical Screening

The aim of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme is to identify changes in the cells of the cervix before they develop into cancer. Cell changes detected at this stage can be removed quickly and easily and most women will not have any further problems or go on to develop cervical cancer. Identifying cell changes before cancer has developed is very difficult as the cell changes do not produce any symptoms and therefore screening using a cervical test is an ideal way to find out whether the cervix is healthy.

Who is eligible for cervical screening?

All women aged between 25 and 64 are automatically invited for screening. Those aged 25-49 are invited every 3 years and women aged 50-64 are invited every 5 years. In order to invite women, names are obtained from the lists held by GPs.

It is important to recognise that, as with any screening test, cervical screening can never be 100% accurate. Regular cervical screening can prevent around 75% of cervical cancers developing but will not be able to identify every cancer. In some cases false negative results (cervical samples which are said to be normal but in fact are abnormal) and also false positive results (cervical samples which are said to be abnormal when they are actually normal) are reported. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is constantly looking at ways to reduce these types of undesirable results but it is highly unlikely that it will ever be possible to eradicate them completely.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have any worries, unusual symptoms or specific questions about a cervical screening test or the NHS Cervical Screening Programme please contact your GP for further information.