Cervical cancer: Low screening uptake

23rd January 2012 - New figures out today show women over 50 are rejecting smear tests because they believe they're unnecessary and irrelevant.

At the start of national Cervical Cancer Prevention Week the results of a survey for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust show nearly one in three of the women questioned failed to realise that cervical screening was a necessary health test for all women.

Smear test

The NHS recommends that women aged between 25 and 49 are screened every three years and those between 50 and 64 are screened every five years. It's estimated this saves 5,000 lives every year.

Cervical screening can prevent around 45% of cervical cancer cases in women in their 30s, rising with age to 75% in women in their 50s and 60s, who attend regularly.

Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust says the poll for women over 50 to 70,  found that 31% did not consider the test necessary for all women with that figure more than doubling (67%) amongst those who had never attended screening.

The latest cervical screening coverage numbers show a worrying downward trend across the UK in this age group and the charity is calling for urgent action.

In England the number of women over 50 who attended screening fell below 80% in 2010 and dropped again to 78% in 2011.

In Scotland, in the past ten years, Cervical Screening coverage has dropped from 91.1% in the 50-54 age group and 87.6% in women aged 55-59 to 84.4% and 82.1%.

In Wales coverage has dropped from 85.4% in the 50-54 age group and 81.9% in women aged 55 - 59 to 80.4% and 78.3%.

Relationships relevant

The YouGov poll found that single, separated and divorced women were four times more likely to have never been for screening compared to women who were married or in a relationship. Single women were more likely to feel that the invitation they received inviting them to a screening "did not seem relevant".

An NHS report found 56% of women aged 50-64 with fully invasive cancer hadn’t been screened within seven years, compared to only 16% of women without cervical cancer.

Robert Music, Director of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said in a press release: "Divorce rates amongst this group of women are rising dramatically as rates fall for all other ages and our survey showed women in the single, separated and divorced groups who were most likely to say the screening invitation seemed irrelevant."

Fact from fiction

Robert Music added: "These results around screening are worrying enough but when you also see that only 11% of the women we surveyed knew all the symptoms of cervical cancer, the potential impact of a lack of education around cervical cancer on the health of women in this age group becomes even greater.

"Over two thirds (68%) were unaware that the main cause of cervical cancer is HPV (the Human Papilloma Virus). Over half of women (51%) in this age group told us they thought cervical cancer was caused by having multiple sexual partners and almost one in five thought it was hereditary (18%). We clearly need to remind women that they can have one sexual partner and still be at risk from HPV."

He said it was of real concern that misinformation and myth may be prevailing and accurate information not connecting.

"There is a desperate need for us to find ways to improve women’s understanding of the causes of cervical cancer and the action they can take to help reduce their risk. This could, quite simply, save their lives."