Up to 400,000 more women each year could be screened for cervical cancer in the UK, after a successful trial of self-sampling kits.
A trial by YouScreen provided self-sampling kits to test for human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to pre-cancerous cells, to more than 27,000 women who were at least six months overdue for their cervical screening. Emerging evidence suggests that self-sampling kits are as good at detecting HPV.
The trial was led by King’s College London in partnership with NHS Cancer Alliances in North Central and North East London, NHS England and the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.
It marks the first time that self-sampling has been offered within the NHS cervical screening programme and is the largest trial of self-sampling for cervical cancer in the UK to date. The kits can be used either in GP practices or in people’s own homes.
Samples taken at home can be posted for free directly to laboratories for testing.
Lead investigator Dr Anita Lim said:
"Women who don’t come for regular screening are at the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. Cervical screening participation has been falling in England for over two decades; currently almost a third of eligible women aren’t getting screened regularly and in some parts of London this is as high as 50%.
“It is crucial that we make cervical screening easier by introducing innovations like self-sampling, alongside the current cervical screening programme, to help protect more people from this highly preventable cancer. Self-sampling can do this by offering people choice and convenience.”
Self-sampling has already been introduced in several countries including Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands and Australia to improve cervical screening participation rates.
The standard cervical screening test is an intimate procedure, with a variety of barriers stopping people from attending. Feedback from GP practices and trial participants, however, was overwhelmingly positive, with reports of self-sampling enabling screening in those who have not historically engaged.
Image credit: iStock
