03 November 2011 : 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)
16 June 2011 : 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.
http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/bjc2011196a.html
17 April 2011 : 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.
15 February 2011 : 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.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12417990
15 February 2011 : 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.
http://www.ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/cancer_type_specific_work/gynae...
11 February 2011 : The 2010/2011 editions of the BSc (Hons) in Healthcare Science curricula and the Practitioner Training Programme Manuals of workbase learning outcomes and competences are available to view via the NHSNetworks web page.
http://www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/msc-framework-curricula/ptp
10 February 2011 : On 8th February 2011, members of the British Society for Clinical Cytology voted in favour of a merger with the National Association of Cytologists.
Dr Karin Denton, Chair of the BSCC, said:
"I am pleased to announce that the merger of BSCC and NAC was approved at the EGM held in Manchester on 8th February. There were 118 votes cast, 83 (70.3%) in favour and 35 (29.7%) against.
The work to produce a merged society has already started and as the workstreams progress I will be in contact to update you. I plan to produce a brief report on the next steps and how they will affect the current membership within the next four weeks.
As you will be aware, the ASM in July will now be the first meeting of the new society and it is vital that our first meeting is a success. Further programme details will be available on the BSCC http://www.clinicalcytology.co.uk and NAC http://www.nac.org.uk websites and registration will be open from 4th March 2011.
The deadline for receiving abstracts for posters and proffered papers is 15 April 2011.
Can I take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted and especially to those who attended the EGM."
Dr Mina Desai, President of the BSCC, said:
"I am very pleased that both societies have joined forces to create a new enlarged and stronger group of professionals who are ideally suited to lead the cytology profession during the challenging times that lie ahead."
10 February 2011 : The Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) has announced the appointment of Jill Rodney as its new Chief Executive. Ms Rodney will commence her full-time role on 31 January 2011, and replaces Alan Potter who is retiring after 20 years as Chief Executive.
http://www.ibms.org/go/media-centre:news,117
18 January 2011 : This new publication from the Department of Health sets out the actions needed to tackle the preventable causes of cancer in England in the coming years.
The strategy includes actions for cervical, breast and colorectal screening, and confirms the intention to implement HPV testing in the cervical screening programme this year.
The commitment to the 14-day turnaround time for cervical screening results is also reaffirmed.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidan...
07 January 2011 : The NHS Cervical Screening Annual Review, published today, confirms the announcement made in the NHS Operating Framework 2011/2012 that from April 2011 Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) testing will be incorporated into the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.
NHS Cervical Screening Annual Review 2010 1.39Mb31 December 2010 : Dr Mina Desai, President of the BSCC, has been appointed CBE in the New Year Honours list for services to women's healthcare. Congratulations Dr Desai!
29 December 2010 : Letter from Julietta Patnick (NHSCSP Director) to the Advisory Committee for Cervical Screening, Special Interest Groups, Laboratories and Colposcopy Clinics.
Date: 16th December 2010
Dear colleague,
Yesterday, 15 December 2010, the Department of Health published the NHS Operating Framework. Among other focuses for the year, the Government confirmed that we will be rolling out HPV triage across England.
As you will be aware, the NHS Cervical Screening Programme has been reviewing how best to implement HPV triage within our screening programme, first through the pilot scheme (completed in 2006) and then by the Sentinel Site Implementation Project. This has proved a successful strategy and we are very pleased to see the Government's commitment to this additional screening test.
We will be providing more detail on how the roll out will take place in the New Year, but wanted to advise you immediately about this important change to our screening programme.
You will recall that we have been using HPV testing for triage in six sites across England as part of the Sentinel Site Implementation Project. The six sites are Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, Northwick Park, Liverpool and Norwich. We are planning to hold an NHSCSP Open Day on 9 March 2011 when the experience of these sites will be discussed. We will be working with the Royal College of Pathologists and others to revise the ABC guidelines to take account of HPV triage and other relevant guidance will also be reviewed.
The protocol and other information materials used in the project can be downloaded from the link below.
I hope this is helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Julietta Patnick
http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/hpv-sentinel-sites.html
16 December 2010 : The Department of Health has published its Operating Framework for 2011-12. Of relevance to the NHS Cervical Screening Programme is the committment to roll out HPV testing for the triage of women with low grade cytological abnormalities, presumably as a result of successful implementation by the HPV sentinel sites in England. The move will "lead to a more patient centred service with major cost savings."
Whether Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales follow suit remains to be seen.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidan...
11 December 2010 : Automation-assisted cervical cytology is 8% less sensitive than manual reading. Results of the MAVARIC (Manual versus Automated Reading in Cervical Cytology) trial are published in this week's Lancet Oncology, sending a strong message to screening authorities that there is no place for automated reading in primary cervical screening.
Find out more in the research section and by following the link below.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(10)70264-3/fulltext
02 December 2010 : This virtual issue will be available for four months and has been chosen to demonstrate the diversity of papers published bi-monthly in Cytopathology. Sigurdsson, from Iceland, describes the results of one of the most effective cervical screening programmes in the world, along with recent data on high-risk HPV prevalence as they move towards screening in the ‘age of vaccination’. Farnsworth writes from experience in Australia, one of the first countries to introduce vaccination in a well-screened population. Wright et al. and Blanks, both from the UK, demonstrate how positive predictive value of cervical cytology is crucial to monitoring performance. Much needed Codes of Practice on non-gynaecological cytopathology were produced by the British Society for Clinical Cytology (Chandra et al, and Kocjan et al.). Zeppo et al. demonstrate the role of flow cytometry as an adjunct to fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology in the diagnosis of lymphoma and Das et al. describe the diagnostic cytological features of large cell anaplastic lymphoma. In a letter to the editor, Fassina et al. challenge the widely perceived risks of FNA cytology in liver malignancy and describe their experience of the safety and clinical value the procedure.
Editorial - 201021(4)
Cervical screening in the era of HPV vaccination (pages 211–212)
A. Farnsworth.
Review article – 201021(4)
Cervical cancer: cytological cervical screening in Iceland and implications of HPV vaccines (pages 213–222)
K. Sigurdsson
Original article - 201021(6)
Comparison of SurePath® and ThinPrep® liquid-based cervical cytology using positive predictive value, atypical predictive value and total predictive value as performance indicators (pages 374–378)
P. K. Wright, J. Marshall and M. Desai
Original article - 201021(6)
Using a graph of the abnormal predictive value versus the positive predictive value for the determination of outlier laboratories in the National Health Service cervical screening programme (pages 379–388)
R. G. Blanks
Original article - 201021(5)
Fine needle aspiration cytology and flow cytometry immunophenotyping of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: can we do better? (pages 300–310)
P. Zeppa, E. Vigliar, I. Cozzolino, G. Troncone, M. Picardi, A. De Renzo, F. Grimaldi, F. Pane, A. Vetrani and Lucio Palombini
Original article – 201021(4)
Anaplastic large cell lymphoma: a critical evaluation of cytomorphological features in seven cases (pages 251–258)
P. Das, V. K. Iyer, S. R. Mathur and R. Ray
Review article -200920(5)
BSCC Code of Practice – fine needle aspiration cytology (pages 283–296)
G. Kocjan, A. Chandra, P. Cross, K. Denton, T. Giles, A. Herbert, P. Smith, D. Remedios and P. Wilson
Review article – 201020(4)
The BSCC Code of Practice – exfoliative cytopathology (excluding gynaecological cytopathology) (pages 211–223)
A. Chandra, P. Cross, K. Denton, T. Giles, D. Hemming, C. Payne, A. Wilson and P. Wilson
Letter to the editor - 201021(6)
Seeding of tumour cells after fine needle aspiration cytology in liver nodules: myth or reality? (pages 413–414)
A. Fassina, M. Fabbro, R. Cappellesso and M. Fassan
http://www.wiley.com/bw/vi.asp?ref=0956-5507&site=1
10 November 2010 : Joint BSCC/NAC statement on primary screening with HPV testing
There has been recent publicity from Prof Peter Saseini on the subject of changing from cytology to HPV testing as the primary screening modality for cervical screening in the UK. All members will have been aware of this alternative for several years but press coverage has suggested that this is a firm plan with protocols and outcomes which have already been agreed.
Prof Julietta Patnick has confirmed the view of the national screening office, that any change would require robust planning, evaluation and quality assurance.
As far as we are aware there are no plans for a large scale implementation at present.
The BSCC and the NAC welcome all advances in cervical cancer prevention , and look forward to the publication of data relating to evaluation of screening techniques in the UK, including the extension to the ARTISTIC study.
We are however very concerned that speculation about future screening modality must not undermine the existing excellent cervical screening programmes in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and for this reason would fully support the national office position that detailed planning, evaluation and quality assurance of any potential changes is required. This would need to be practically based, and to draw on laboratory based expertise, rather than being seen as a purely academic exercise.
The BSCC and the NAC will keep members updated on any developments in this area.
Karin Denton Chairman, BSCC
Mike Rowell President, NAC
Professor Sasieni’s recommendations: Screening post vaccination
1. For women vaccinated aged 11 to 14, HPV testing at age 30 and 45
2. For women vaccinated aged 15-23, HPV testing at aged 25 to establish those not protected by vaccine, and further tests at age 35 and 50
3. For women who are not vaccinated or who have only received one dose, HPV testing at age 25, 30, 35, 45, and 55
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11717154
04 November 2010 : Trent Cancer Registry and the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) are pleased to announce the release of the new Cervical Screening and Cancer e-Atlas. This has been commissioned by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP).
http://www.empho.org.uk/tcr/cervicalEatlas.aspx
24 October 2010 : 300,000 fewer women were tested under the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in 2009-10 compared to the previous year's peak of 3.6 million. This and other findings are published in the 2009-10 report of the Cervical Screening Programme, link below.
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/cervscreen0910
05 October 2010 : The NHSCSP has published an update of its cervical screening literature database, available at the link below.
http://www.nhs.thescienceregistry.com/search.aspx?title=2
20 September 2010 : Cervical Screening Wales has purchased PathXL to carry out a trial of a virtual EQA scheme, comprising up to 50 participants. The scheme, whereby slides are stored digitally and accessible to participants online, is the first “virtual” scheme in cervical screening in the UK.
http://www.i-path.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=195:i-path-supports-c...