The screening history of women with cervical cancer in the Rotterdam area

Objective: In order to gain insight into the diagnostic effectiveness of th e screening program on cervical cancer in the Rotterdam area, the history o f women with cervical cancer was studied. Three questions were asked: (1) W hat percentage of women were invited to the screening program, and what per centage participated. (2) What percentage of women had had a negative smear within 3 years before cancer was diagnosed, and (3) What percentage of wom en encountered inadequate follow-up. Methods: All the cytological and histo logical results of women who were diagnosed with cervical carcinoma between 1992-1994 were studied. Results: Within 3 years of the diagnosis, 42% of t he 165 women with cervical cancer were invited for the cervical screening p rogram. A total of 47% were too old to be invited and 10% were too young. A total of 37% of the women who were invited participated in the screening p rogram. A total of 33 (20%) of 165 women with cervical carcinoma had had a negative smear within three years preceding the diagnosis. For women under 34 years of age this was 41% (n = 7), and for women over 56 years 8% (n = 6 ). A total of 7% of all women with cervical cancer encountered inadequate f ollow-up. Conclusion: Many women with a diagnosis of cervical cancer are to o old to be invited for the cervical screening program. Relatively few of t he women with cervical cancer who were invited for the screening program ac tually participated in this program.