Cervical cancer: nearly 1 in 2 women neglect screening

On the occasion of the European week for prevention and screening of cervical cancer, from January 24 to 30, 2016, the National Cancer Institute (INCa) and the Ministry of Health are launching an information campaign on cervical cancer screening.

This involves informing women about the importance of performing a smear every three years. The priority objective of this booster shot: to mobilize women aged 45 to 65, who do not perform enough smears – but also others, while it is estimated that 40% of women do not perform this act regularly.
The cervico-uterine smear is recommended every three years after two normal smears one year apart, in order to detect cancerous or precancerous lesions, before they develop into cancer. As the progress is slow, it is important to continue to do the smear until the age of 65, even without sexual intercourse.

Moreover, since vaccination does not protect against all forms of the virus, all women, vaccinated or not, must be tested. Doing the smear every year or every two years is not recommended: this would expose a risk of over-diagnosis, in particular of lesions which would have regressed spontaneously and therefore of over-treatment, with a risk of sequelae on the cervix. uterus.

Insufficient gynecological follow-up

In France, nearly 9 out of 10 smears are performed by gynecologists. Yet many women do not have regular gynecological follow-up, especially women aged 50 to 65, and women from the least advantaged socioeconomic categories, recalls the INCa.

Each year, pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions are identified in more than 31,000 women, 3,000 new cases of cancer are detected in France, resulting in 1,100 deaths each year.
There are two effective weapons to fight against this cancer, according to the Institute: vaccination, recommended from 11 years and smear screening for women, vaccinated or not, from 25 to 65 years.