Overview

Population-based screening is an organised, systematic and integrated process of testing for signs of cancer or pre-cancerous conditions in populations without obvious symptoms. Programs target specific populations and/or age groups where evidence shows screening to be most effective.

More reports and statistics on cancer screening can be found under Cancer.

Latest findings

Screen-detected bowel cancers less likely to cause death than bowel cancers diagnosed in people never invited to screen Since the program began in August 2006, about 5.5 million NBCSP screening tests have been completed The re-participation rate in 2016–2017 for people who had taken part in an earlier invitation round was 78% Screen-detected cervical cancers less likely to cause death than cervical cancers diagnosed in never-screened women Of the 4.1 million people invited between January 2016 and December 2017, 41% participated Screen-detected breast cancers less likely to cause death than breast cancers diagnosed in never-screened women Of those assessed in 2017 after a positive screen, 1 in 29 were diagnosed with a confirmed or suspected cancer Participation in cervical screening was higher in HPV-vaccinated women than in unvaccinated women

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Cancer screening Participation

Latest rates, trends & data visualisations.

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Highlights

Screen-detected bowel cancers less likely to cause death than bowel cancers diagnosed outside the program
54–56%of women aged 20–69 (about 3 million women) participated in cervical screening between January 2016 and June 2017
Screen-detected cervical cancers less likely to cause death than cervical cancers diagnosed in never-screened women
Participation in cervical screening was higher in HPV-vaccinated women than in unvaccinated women
Screen-detected breast cancers less likely to cause death than breast cancers diagnosed in never-screened women
140women aged 20–69 died from cervical cancer in 2017
Screen-detected bowel cancers were more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier cancer stage