Epidemiology and surveillance of cervical screening programs

WHO has launched the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer from 2020. The proposed project is highly relevant for achieving this goal.

In recent years, a transition from cytology to human papillomavirus (HPV)-testing as the primary screening method has been ongoing worldwide.

This change has brought a complete refiguration of the screening laboratories, a changing demand for diagnostic services, and will also mean that women will receive fewer screening invitations as a negative test outcome provides greater reassurance for the absence of cervical cancer than what cytology dose. Meanwhile, the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a disruption of cervical screening in many countries and might require adjustment for future practice.

The aims of the projects are: 1) to understand the major change of the cervical screening program by comparing the introduction of HPV testing into cervical cancer screening programs in the UK, Denmark and Sweden. 2) to identify the best measure of test sensitivity for quality assurance of the screening program using data that screening programs collect routinely. 3) to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on service disruptions of cervical screening programs.

The proposed project will utilize the large-scale data from the UK, Sweden and Denmark.

Research findings derived from this project will provide new knowledge of the new screening programs and promote women’s health and well-being worldwide.