Written question on Cervical Cancer the fight continues To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans he has to introduce cervical cancer screening on request for people aged 25 and under. In January 2011, the age to start cervical screening in Northern Ireland was increased to 25. This policy is in line with recommendations made by the UK National Screening Committee following consideration of the best available scientific evidence. This is also the advice of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organisation, and is the policy adopted by the majority of EU member states. In population screening programmes, benefits have to outweigh any potential harms and it is important to get this balance right. Cervical cancer is rare in young women. Current evidence indicates that screening is not effective in women under the age of 25 because those who develop cervical cancer were as likely to be screened as unscreened. Cervical abnormalities are common in women under the age of 25. This means screening would pick up a large number of abnormalities that are transient and that would never progress to cancer. However, detection of such abnormalities can cause unnecessary anxiety and lead to further investigations and in many cases to treatment that is not needed. Treating cervical abnormalities, particularly in young women, can also lead to premature births in subsequent pregnancies.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 19:59:38 +0000
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