Susanne F. Jørgensen

Adherence to follow‐up after the exit cervical cancer screening test at age 60–64: A nationwide register‐based study

AbstractBackgroundIn Denmark, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing has replaced cytology in primary cervical cancer screening for women aged 60–64; at this age, women are invited for the last (exit) screening test within the national organized program.AimWe investigated the adherence of these women to the recommended follow‐up after a non‐negative (positive or inadequate) HPV test and the overall resource use during that follow‐up.Materials & MethodsWe included all 2926 women aged 60–64 years with nonnegative HPV screening tests between March 2012 and December 2016. All relevant follow‐up tests and procedures were retrieved until the end of 2020 from the highly complete Danish administrative health registers, and the data were linked at the individual level. We determined the extent to which the adherence patterns followed the national recommendations for follow‐up and estimated the total numbers of tests and diagnostic procedures utilized during the entire process.ResultsIn total, only 26% of women had follow‐up in accordance with the recommendations; 4% had no follow‐up, 46% had insufficient follow‐up, and 24% had more follow‐up than recommended. We estimated that 17% of women remained in follow‐up for longer than 4 years. The average numbers of diagnostic tests and procedures used after positive HPV screening were higher than expected, even among women who had insufficient follow‐up, that is, those who received less invasive procedures than recommended, or experienced delays in receiving those procedures.ConclusionTo conclude, we found that the patterns of follow‐up of women with nonnegative primary HPV screening tests at 60–64 often diverged from the recommendations. Addressing these inconsistencies in follow‐up by providing evidence for optimal clinical management should help improve the quality of screening programs and secure an equal and reliable follow‐up care service for all women.

Value of a catch-up HPV test in women aged 65 and above: A Danish population-based nonrandomized intervention study

Background High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) test is replacing cytology as the primary cervical cancer screening test due to superior sensitivity, but in most countries women ≥65 years have never had an HPV test despite they account for around 50% of cervical cancer deaths. We explored the effect of a catch-up HPV test among 65- to 69-year-old women without previous record of HPV-based screening. Methods and findings This population-based nonrandomized intervention study (quasi-experimental design) included Danish women aged 65 to 69 with no record of cervical cancer screening in the last ≥5.5 years and no HPV-exit test at age 60 to 64 at the time of study inclusion. Eligible women residing in the Central Denmark Region were invited for HPV screening either by attending clinician-based sampling or requesting a vaginal self-sampling kit (intervention group, n = 11,192). Women residing in the remaining four Danish regions received standard care which was the opportunity to have a cervical cytology collected for whatever reason (reference group, n = 33,387). Main outcome measures were detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) per 1,000 women eligible for the screening offer and the benefit–harm ratio of the intervention and standard practice measured as the number of colposcopies needed to detect one CIN2+ case. The minimum follow-up time was 13 months for all tested women (range: 13 to 25 months). In the intervention group, 6,965 (62.2%) were screened within 12 months from the date of study inclusion and 743 (2.2%) women had a cervical cytology collected in the reference group. The CIN2+ detection was significantly higher in the intervention group (3.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): [2.9, 5.3]; p < 0.001; n = 44/11,192) as compared to the reference group (0.3, 95% CI: [0.2, 0.6]; n = 11/33,387). For the benefit–harm ratio, 11.6 (95% CI: [8.5, 15.8]; p = 0.69; n = 511/44) colposcopies were performed to detect one CIN2+ in the intervention group as compared to 10.1 (95% CI: [5.4, 18.8]; n = 111/11) colposcopies in the reference group. The study design entails a risk of confounding due to the lack of randomization. Conclusions The higher CIN2+ detection per 1,000 eligible women in the intervention group supports that a catch-up HPV test could potentially improve cervical cancer prevention in older women. This study informs the current scientific debate as to whether women aged 65 and above should be offered a catch-up HPV test if they never had an HPV test. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04114968.

How follow-up rates in cervical cancer screening depend on organizational factors: A comparison of two population-based organized screening programmes

Objectives This study compares the follow-up rates of non-normal cervical screening samples between Denmark and Flanders (Belgium) to illuminate whether organizational differences between the health systems might affect the follow-up rates, e.g. sending of reminders in Denmark since 2012 compared to Flanders with no such system in place. Methods The study population included 48,082 Danish women and 22,271 Flemish women who received abnormal or inadequate primary screening results from 2014 to 2016. The participants were followed for 24 months, and the timeliness and appropriateness of the recommended follow-up, according to national guidelines, were evaluated. Results After 18 months over 90% of the Danish women had received some form of follow-up, while in Flanders, this level is achieved only for those who test positive for human papillomavirus. The analysis also revealed that 10–28% of follow-ups were performed too early, with Danish women showing the highest proportions. In both regions, general practitioners (GPs) exhibited better follow-up rates compared to gynaecologists, with gynaecologists displaying a tendency towards earlier re-testing than recommended. Conclusions An important factor influencing the follow-up rate may be the sending of reminders in Denmark since 2012, as the follow-up rates in general were higher in this period. It is noteworthy that a reminder system is currently being implemented in Flanders and further studies on the potential effects should be studied. Additionally, the organization of the health system might influence the follow-up rate, as engaging the GP for screening in Denmark may have had a positive effect.

Offering Cervical Cancer Screening to Older Women

This study evaluates the effect and feasibility of expanding the target population in the Danish cervical cancer screening program to include women aged 65 to 69 years. The study also evaluates if HPV self-sampling constitutes an appropriate screening method among older women.