Screening for colorectal cancer in Italy: 2011-2012 survey

We present the main results of the 2011-2012 survey of the Italian screening programmes for colorectal cancer carried out by the National centre for screening monitoring (Osservatorio nazionale screening, ONS) on behalf of the Ministry of Health. By the end of 2012, 112 programmes were active, of which 11 had been activated during 2012 and 4 during 2011. The national theoretical extension increased from 66% of Italians aged 50-69 years residing in areas covered by organized screening programmes in 2010 to 73.7% in 2012. The majority of programmes employ the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), while some have adopted flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) once in a lifetime and FIT for non-responders to FS. Overall, about 7,744,000 subjects were invited to undergo FIT, 53.1% of those to be invited within the two years. The adjusted attendance rate was 47.1%and 3,531,937 subjects were screened. Large differences in the attendance rate were observed among regions. Positivity rate of FIT programmes was 5.2% at first screening (range: 1.0-12.4%) and 4.0% at repeat screening (range: 3.4-6.4%). The average attendance rate to total colonoscopy (TC) was 81.2% and in two regions (Molise and Campania) it was lower than 70%. Completion rate for total colonoscopy (TC) was 91%. Among the 1,316,327 subjects attending screening for the first time, the detection rate (DR) per 1,000 screened subjects was 2.0 for invasive cancer and 9.1 ‰ for advanced adenomas (AA, adenomas with a diameter ≥1 cm, with villous/tubulo-villous type or high-grade dysplasia). As expected, the corresponding figures in the 2,215,610 subjects at repeat screening were lower (1.0‰ and 6.8‰ for invasive cancer and AA, respectively). Many programmes reported some difficulties in guaranteeing TC in the appropriate time frame to FIT+ subjects: in 15% of cases the waiting time was longer than two months. Ten programmes in 2011 and eight in 2012 employed FS as the screening test: 24,549 subjects were screened in the two years, with an attendance rate of 24.5%. Overall, 85.9% of FSs were classified as complete. Overall, TC referral rate was 9.8% and the DR per 1,000 screened subjects was 3.0 and 48.2 for invasive cancer and AA, respectively

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 incidence of invasive cervical cancer (ICC), comparing rates before and after OCSPs' activation. 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 OCSPs' full-activation 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 OCSPs' full-activation 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 OCSPs' full-activation, 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

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