A report released today by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW) compares participation rates for cervical
screening in Australia with rates in other countries and finds that
in general Australian rates compare favourably, but rates for under
40s are declining.
The recommended screening interval in Australia is two years,
but many other countries have three- or five-year screening
intervals,' said Christine Sturrock of the Institute's Health
Registers and Cancer Monitoring Unit.
The report, Cervical Screening in Australia 2005-2006,
measures three- and five-year participation rates in Australia for
the first time.
The participation rate for women in Australia in the target age
range 20-69 years who get Pap tests every two-year was 61%.
The three-year participation rate was 73%, which compares
favourably with 69% for England, and 64% for Wales.
The five-year participation was 86% - a rate that was higher
than England (79%), Wales (75%) and the Netherlands (77%) but lower
than Finland (90%), which has the highest five-year screening rate
in the world.
'While these rates are encouraging, participation in screening
in Australia has been steadily declining in women aged less than 40
years,' Ms Sturrock said.
The Institute's Medical Adviser, Dr Paul Magnus, said, 'The need
for women to have regular Pap tests remains as important as ever,
despite the significant advance of the new cervical cancer
vaccination.'
Other findings from the report include:
- The number of new cases of cervical cancer has fallen from 13
per 100,000 (women of all ages) in 1991 when the Program commenced,
to 7 per 100,000 in 2004.
- The age-standardised death rate more than halved between 1991
and 2005, from about 4 per 100,000 women to just under 2 per
100,000.
The National Cervical Screening Program aims to achieve early
detection of pre-cancerous abnormalities and therefore reduce the
number of cases which develop into cervical cancer.
Friday 19 May 2008
Further information: Ms Christine Sturrock, 02
6244 1118, mob. 0418 271 395.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for the availability of Cervical Screening in
Australia 2005-2006.