Clinical Research Directory

Research Project on Reminders and Self-Sampling Can Increase Participation in Gynecology Cell Sampling - Preventive Examination Against Cervical Cancer.

Sponsor: Karolinska Institutet

Summary

Prevention of cervical cancer with cervical screening is one of the most successful screening activities in medicine. In Sweden, screening was implemented in the 1960s and has since prevented tens of thousands of women from having cervical cancer. Individual invitations to screening result in increased attendance therefore evaluating strategies for reaching women through invitations is particularly valuable. Women who regularly attend screening following an invitation reduce their risk of cervical cancer by as much as 90%. Of the women who are diagnosed with cervical cancer (about 550 women per year in Sweden), as many as 38% did not participate in the screening. Invitations for screening are sent to the entire population in Sweden aged 23-70. The current coverage of screening is 82.9%, which represents the proportion of women ages 23-70 who attend according to recommendations. In addition, many women are sporadic attenders who reduce their risk for cancer somewhat. The highest cancer risk is seen among those women who have never participated as well as women who have had a history of precancerous lesions or HPV infection but have not been followed-up. Cervical cancer is the first form of cancer for which there are approved molecular screening tests (HPV test). Unlike the older screening method (cytology), self-collected samples can be analyzed for HPV (the analysis method is so sensitive that it does not matter if the sample is not optimally taken). Invitations and reminders about cervical screening are sent by letter to the woman's home address (about 3 million letters per year in Sweden). This strategy results in a waste of resources and has a negative environmental impact. Regarding reminders, we have seen in previous research that the effect is not optimal. When sending a physical reminder letter to women who have not participated in more than 10 years (current routine), only 2% of the women invited came for sampling. Reminders with SMS are now standard for many businesses in society, such as car testing or dental appointments. It is inexpensive, saves the environment and there are studies that suggest it is more effective than sending physical letters. In this study, we intend to investigate whether SMS reminders, electronic letters, and physical letters for screening lead to increased participation and thus to a higher proportion of detected, treatable precursors of cervical cancer compared to before.

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