The smear, which the GP makes with a duckbill (speculum), is prepared for laboratory examination. Photo: ANP
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Just under half of the people invited to the cervical cancer population screening last year took part. That percentage is lower than in the three previous years, when an average of 57 percent of people accepted the invitation, reports the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
The cervical cancer screening program was suspended between 16 March and 1 July 2020 due to the corona pandemic. As a result, about 200,000 fewer than usual received an invitation. Every year, 800,000 people between the ages of 30 and 60 are invited to have a Pap smear made by their GP. Of the 600,000 people who did receive an invitation in 2020, about half responded.
An approximately twice as high percentage of the participants opted for a self-test as in previous years. Some people who did not respond before have now taken part in the study, according to RIVM. People who did not accept the invitation at all, for example because they did not want to go to the doctor during the pandemic, will receive a letter to let them know that they can still participate.
Papillomavirus
A total of 296,487 people were examined in the context of the cervical cancer population screening last year. Human papillomavirus (HPV) was found in 9.5 percent of the participants, especially in the 30 to 35 age group. That percentage is comparable to previous years. HPV is transmitted through sexual contact and can cause cervical cancer, among other things.
3350 participants were found to have a preliminary stage of the disease. That figure is also comparable to previous years, the RIVM reports. Every year about 800 people in the Netherlands get cervical cancer and about 200 people die from the disease.
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