BSCC

News : Full steam ahead for BAC website

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 20:55:15 GMT

The BSCC and NAC websites are in the process of being phased out. We hope to have a new-look website for the British Association for Cytopathology ready before Christmas! Please check this news page regularly for progress reports. Best wishes, Andrew Evered (Webmaster)

News : Increasing rates of cervical cancer in young women in England

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:16:18 GMT

Interrogation of a UK national cancer registration database has revealed a significant increase in cervical cancer rates in 20-29 year-olds in the period 1992-2006.

News : British Association for Cytopathology logo competition

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:34:36 GMT

Dear Member, We are inviting your creativity and imagination to design a logo for the newly formed organisation that will be launched at its inaugural meeting in July at the Scientific Meeting at Keele University. The wining entry will receive a prize of a digital camera . The logo may be reinforced with a slogan of your choice but this is however not mandatory. A new logo will be used on all our communications and publications and should therefore ideally reflect what we do and who we are. There is no restriction on size or shape, however please restrict your design to the use of the colour purple only. This will facilitate reduced printing costs and project a corporate identity. This competition is open to fully paid up members of both the BSCC and the NAC. Please send all entries to BAC Logo Competition, Christian Burt, Institute of Biomedical science, 12 Coldbath Square. London. Please include your name, current membership number, email & phone number. Since it is our intention to reveal the winning entry at the ASM, all submission must be with the reviewing panel no later than 30th April.

News : Cervarix was a "bad decision" claim sexual health experts

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:55:00 GMT

Two sexual health experts have spoken publicly of their dismay at the decision to choose Cervarix rather than Gardasil in the UK HPV immunisation programme. Cervarix does not protect against HPV types 6 and 11 - the most common types associated with genital warts. As such, experts believe that a golden opportunity to eradicate the most common sexually transmitted disease in the UK has been missed. In contrast, Australia chose the quadrivalent vaccine Gardasil and has seen a 47% reduction in genital warts since immunisation began.

News : Profile of cervical cancer in England published

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:36:15 GMT

The National Cancer Intelligence Network and the NHS Cervical Screeing Programme have produced a collaborative report detailing the current status of cervical cancer in England. The key findings are: ■ Over the last 20 years the incidence of cervical cancer in England has halved whilst mortality has reduced by almost two-thirds. The reduction in incidence has levelled off in recent years. ■ Incidence and mortality rates tend to be highest for those Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and Cancer Networks (CNs) in the north of England, and lowest in the south and east. At CN level, the highest incidence rate is more than double that of the lowest rate. ■ Between 1998 and 2008, incidence in women aged 25–29 increased by 77%. Similarly, incidence in women aged 30–34 increased by 29%. During this period mortality rates in these age groups have stabilised. ■ There is strong evidence that both incidence and mortality are worse in patients living in the more deprived Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). For example, the average mortality rate among the 30 most deprived PCTs is 3.3 per 100,000 female population compared with 1.9 in the 30 most affluent PCTs. ■ Survival following a diagnosis of cervical cancer has improved in England since the mid-1980s, from 82% to 86% for one-year relative survival and from 62% to 68% for five-year relative survival. ■ There is some variation between CNs in recent survival. One-year relative survival varies from 73% to 90%, and five-year relative survival from 55% to 82%. ■ There is strong evidence that cervical cancer survival is worse in older women. For example, one-year relative survival in those aged 15–39 is 96% compared with 52% in those aged 80 or older. Similarly, five-year survival in those aged 15–39 is 86% compared with 27% in those aged 80 or older.

Research: HPV vaccine cuts need for cervical screening

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:46:38 GMT

Two papers in Lancet Oncology add more evidence supporting the long term efficacy of HPV vaccination programmes. This may reduce the need for screening to just a once-in-a-lifetime test, according to the author of one of the papers, Prof Matti Lehtinen.

Research: HPV self testing out-performs cytology in low resource setting

Sun, 6 Nov 2011 17:17:26 GMT

A Mexican study reported in The Lancet has found that HPV testing on self-collected vaginal samples is 3.4 times more sensitive than cytology. Despite its lower specificity, the authors conclude that HPV testing might be preferred in low-resource settings where restricted infrastructure reduces the effectiveness of cytology screening programmes.

Research: NPV of colposcopy out-competes PPV of HPV test

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:37:03 GMT

When women with human papilloma virus (HPV) have low-grade cytology findings but a normal colposcopy, they can be followed at routine intervals, a UK team has shown. The cumulative rate of CIN2+ at 3 years in HPV+ve/Colp -ve women was 4.4% at 27 months, considered as sufficiently low to justify return to routine recall.

Research: Safe thresholds for HC2 HPV testing in primary screening

Sat, 28 May 2011 13:32:49 GMT

An analysis of HPV primary screening trials suggests that cut-off values for the HC2 test could be safely increased to 10rlu. False positive results would be greatly reduced without significantly compromising sensitivity.

Research: £775m investment in NHS research planned

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:39:38 GMT

Up to £775 million of government funding is to be made available over the next five years for research aimed at delivering benefits to NHS patients.