In Ireland, the national cervical screening programme (Cervical Check) offers regular smear tests to women aged 25 – 60 years. The aim of this screening programme is to reduce the number of new cases of and death from cervical cancer in the Irish population. A cervical screening test (smear test) is a way of detecting abnormal cells in the cervix.
There are some limitations of screening which include
cervical screening will not prevent all cases of cervical cancer
some women will still develop cervical cancer despite regular screening
some abnormal cell changes may be missed
We would like to measure both the success and the limitations of screening and aim to start this by identifying which cervical cancers were detected via screening, which cervical cancers were diagnosed after a negative screening result had been issued (interval cancers), and which cervical cancers occurred in women who did not participate in the national screening programme. This is important for aiding in programme evaluation and also to better understand the characteristics associated with interval cancers. We would also like to examine whether there were any changes over time in the 9 year period, 2008 to 2016 inclusive.
