Cancer screening age cut ruled out

Women in Rochdale will not be called for cervical cancer screening at 20, the Government has announced.

Cervical cancer screening was pushed to the forefront after reality TV-star Jade Goody was diagnosed with the condition last summer and died in March, aged 27.

Currently only women 25 or over are invited to be screened, but campaigners want the age reduced to 20 in line with Scotland and Wales.

A review carried out by the independent Advisory Committee on Cervical Screening (ACCS) ruled unanimously against change in the screening age because evidence showed earlier screenings could do “more harm than good”, causing too many false positives and increasing the risk of premature births among some women.

Health Minister Ann Keen said: “In the past few months I have met with a number of young women who have cervical cancer. I have listened carefully and I am determined to make sure that our policy is in their best interests.

“There has been a big public debate about this issue and a great deal of publicity about the causes and symptoms of cervical cancer.

“Together we can build on this work to help even more women across the country to take steps to prevent the disease and identify symptoms early and save lives.”

Ms Keen confirmed there will be an awareness campaign to encourage GPs and nurses to spot the signs of cancer at an earlier stage.

All girls aged 12 and 13 in Rochdale are being offered the vaccine to protect them against the sexually-transmitted papilloma virus as well as 17 and 18-year-olds, who missed out on the jab at school.

Figures released by the Department of Health in April showed hundreds of girls across the town had taken up the offer.