1. ¹Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, Centre for cancer Epidemiology and Prevention (CPO Piemonte), via San Francesco da Paola 31, 10123 Torino, Italy
2. ²Unit of Pathology, OIRM S Anna, Cso Spezia 60, Torino, Italy
3. ³Centre for early cancer diagnosis and treatment, OIRM S Anna, Cso Spezia 60, Torino, Italy

Correspondence: Dr G Ronco, E-mail: guglielmo.ronco@cpo.it

⁴The Turin cervical screening working group: Valentina Ricciardi (CPO Piemonte), Ester Berardengo (Unit of Pathology, Ospedale S Giovanni AS), Alberto Andrion (Unit of Pathology, Ospedale Martini), Sergio Coverlizza (Unit of Pathology, Ospedale Giovanni Bosco), Stefano Taraglio (Unit of Pathology, Ospedale Maria Vittoria), Maria Grazia Accinellli (Unit of Pathology, University of Torino), Leonardo Micheletti (Unit of Colposcopy, OIRM S Anna), Piergiorgio Maggiorotti (Service of Community Medicine, ASL TO1), Cinzia Mengani (Service of Community Medicine, ASL TO2), Maria Rosa Giolito (Service of Community Medicine, ASL TO4)

Received 8 April 2005; Revised 15 June 2005; Accepted 17 June 2005; Published online 12 July 2005.

Abstract

After an organised cervical screening programme was introduced in Turin in 1992, the age-adjusted cervical cancer incidence ratio in 1992–98 was 0.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59–1.09) for invited vs not invited women and 0.25 (95% CI 0.13–0.50) for attenders vs non attenders. An organised screening programme can further reduce cervical cancer incidence in an area where substantial spontaneous activity was previously present.