ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Faroe Islands have had nationally organised cervical cancer screening since 1995. Women aged 25-60 years are invited every third year. Participation is free of charge. Although several European overviews on cervical screening are available, none have included the Faroe Islands. Our aim was to provide the first description of cervical cancer screening, and to determine the screening history of women diagnosed with cervical cancer in the Faroe Islands. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Screening data from 1996 to 2012 were obtained from the Diagnostic Centre at the National Hospital of the Faroe Islands. They included information on cytology and HPV testing whereas information on histology was not registered consistently. Process indicators were calculated, including coverage rate, excess smears, proportion of abnormal cytological samples, and frequency of HPV testing. Data on cervical cancer cases were obtained from the Faroese Ministry of Health Affairs. The analysis of the screening history was undertaken for cases diagnosed in 2000-2010. RESULTS: A total of 52 457 samples were taken in 1996-2012. Coverage varied between 67% and 81% and was 71% in 2012. Excess smears decreased after 1999. At present, 7.0% of samples have abnormal cytology. Of all ASCUS samples, 76-95% were tested for HPV. A total of 58% of women diagnosed with cervical cancer did not participate in screening prior to their diagnosis, and 32% had normal cytology in the previous four years. CONCLUSION: Despite the difficult geographical setting, the organised cervical cancer screening programme in the Faroe Islands has achieved a relatively high coverage rate. Nevertheless, challenges, e.g. consistent histology registration and sending reminders, still exist.
Subject(s)
Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology , Vaginal Smears/statistics & numerical data , Adenocarcinoma/epidemiology , Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Adult , Age Distribution , Atypical Squamous Cells of the Cervix , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/epidemiology , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology , Denmark/epidemiology , Early Detection of Cancer , Female , Humans , Incidence , Middle Aged , Papillomavirus Infections/diagnosis , Program Evaluation , Registries/statistics & numerical data , Time Factors , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/epidemiology , Uterine Cervical Dysplasia/epidemiology , Uterine Cervical Dysplasia/pathologyABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The NORDCAN database and program ( www.ancr.nu ) include detailed information and results on cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence in each of the Nordic countries over five decades and has lately been supplemented with predictions of cancer incidence and mortality; future extensions include the incorporation of cancer survival estimates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data originates from the national cancer registries and causes of death registries in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Faroe Islands and is regularly updated. Presently 41 cancer entities are included in the common dataset, and conversions of the original national data according to international rules ensure comparability. RESULTS: With 25 million inhabitants in the Nordic countries, 130 000 incident cancers are reported yearly, alongside nearly 60 000 cancer deaths, with almost a million persons living with a cancer diagnosis. This web-based application is available in English and in each of the five Nordic national languages. It includes comprehensive and easy-to-use descriptive epidemiology tools that provide tabulations and graphs, with further user-specified options available. DISCUSSION: The NORDCAN database aims to provide comparable and timely data to serve the varying needs of policy makers, cancer societies, the public, and journalists, as well as the clinical and research community.
