Screening for cervical cancer--should the routine be challenged?

Despite the extensiveness of cervical cancer screening programs, certain major issues are still at stake: (a) substantial false negative rates are common, mostly due to impaired test quality, (b) the optimal length of interval between screenings is uncertain, being a function of available resources and the physicians' attitude, (c) the postmenopausal population, in which incidence is highest, is inadequately tapped. Efforts must be made to optimise the process through more stringent control measures, and a more comprehensive cover of the target population.