Cervical cancer screening in Serbia

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the second most common female malignancy in Serbia, after breast cancer, with 1089 new registered cases and an age-standardized incidence rate of 27.2 per 100,000 women in 2002. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with 452 deaths and an age-standardized death rate of 7.2 per 100,000 women. Compared with other European countries, the incidence of cervical cancer in Central Serbia is the highest. Regional differences in incidence are pronounced in Serbia with the lowest age-standardized incidence rate (16.6 per 100,000 women) registered in the Macvanski region and the highest in eastern Serbia and the region of Belgrade where the rates are double at 32.5-38.1 per 100,000 women. Cervical cancer prevention in Serbia has relied on opportunistic screening that is characterized by high coverage in younger and low coverage in middle-aged and older women. Screening of selected groups of women employed in large companies is performed annually by many regional hospitals but this approach has little effect on morbidity and mortality. Recently, the Ministry of Health nominated an Expert Group to develop and implement a national cervical cancer screening program. A number of pilot projects have been undertaken with the results used for development of a national programme for cervical cancer screening. This is expected to be finalized in 2007, and launched over a 3-years period in order to cover all women aged 25-64 in entire Serbia.