Changes in cervical cancer incidence following the introduction of organized screening in Italy

Objective: To quantify the impact of organized cervical screening programs (OCSPs) on the incidence of invasive cervical cancer (ICC), comparing rates before and after activation of OCSPs. Methods: This population-based investigation, using individual data from cancer registries and OCSPs, included 3557 women diagnosed with ICC at age 25-74. years in 1995-2008. The year of full-activation of each OCSP was defined as the year when at least 40% of target women had been invited. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated as the ratios between age-standardized incidence rates observed in periods after full-activation of OCSPs vs those observed in the preceding quinquennium. Results: ICC incidence rates diminished with time since OCSPs full-activation: after 6-8. years, the IRR was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.67-0.85). The reduction was higher for stages IB-IV (IRR. =. 0.68, 95% CI: 0.58-0.80), squamous cell ICCs (IRR. =. 0.74, 95% CI: 0.64-0.84), and particularly evident among women aged 45-74. years. Conversely, incidence rates of micro-invasive (stage IA) ICCs increased, though not significantly, among women aged 25-44. years (IRR. =. 1.34, 95% CI: 0.91-1.96). Following full-activation of OCSPs, micro-invasive ICCs were mainly and increasingly diagnosed within OCSPs (up to 72%). Conclusion(s): Within few years from activation, organized screening positively impacted the already low ICC incidence in Italy and favored down-staging

Impact of screening programme using the faecal immunochemical test on stage of colorectal cancer: Results from the IMPATTO study

To evaluate the impact of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening on stage distribution at diagnosis, and to estimate relative incidence rates by stage in screened at first and subsequent rounds vs. unscreened. We included all incident cases occurring in 2000–2008 in 50- to 71-year-olds residing in areas with an FIT-screening programme. Multinomial logistic models were computed to estimate the relative risk ratio (RRR) of stages I and IV, compared to stage II + III, adjusting for age, sex, geographical area, and incidence year. Proportions were then used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) by stage for screened subjects at the first and at subsequent rounds vs. unscreened subjects, applying the expected changes in overall incidence during screening phases. 11,663 cancers were included: 5965 in not-invited and 5,698 in invited subjects, 3,425 of whom attendees. Compared to not-invited, invited subjects had RRR 2.04 (95% CI: 1.84; 2.46) of stage I and RRR 0.77 (95% CI: 0.69; 0.87) of stage IV. Differences were stronger comparing attendees vs. nonattendees. Interval cancers were more frequently stage I compared to non-invited (RRR 1.54; 95% CI: 1.15; 2.04), but there was no difference for stage IV. IRRs in screened at first round vs. unscreened were 4.6 (95% CI: 4.2; 5.1), 1.4 (95% CI: 1.3; 1.5) and 0.7 (95% CI: 0.6; 0.9) for stages I, II + III and IV, respectively; in the following rounds the IRRs of screened vs. unscreened were 1.4 (95% CI: 1.2; 1.6), 0.8 (95% CI: 0.7; 0.9) and 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1; 0.4) for stages I, II + III and IV, respectively. FIT screening reduces the incidence of metastatic cancers by about 70% after the first round