Self-sampling for cervical cancer screening – what is it and what does evidence from Europe tell us about whether it provides any benefits compared to traditional ways of screening?
Regular screening is crucial for preventing cervical cancer or identifying cancer at an early stage, when treatment is most likely to be successful. Screening is particularly important for women who did not receive the HPV vaccine; in the UK, that means most women over the age of 30. Many European countries, including the UK, have Read More >
Could universal opt-out HIV testing in Italian emergency departments be a cost-effective way of increasing HIV diagnosis rates in Italy?
In Italy, 60% of new HIV diagnoses are in people who already have advanced disease (i.e., a CD4 count <350 cells/mm3) (1). This highlights an urgent need for alternative screening strategies if Italy is to make progress towards achieving the UNAIDS target of diagnosing at least 95% of people living with HIV (2). Read More >
Exploring an alternative way to triage samples within cervical cancer screening
Our analysis comparing the costs of using DNA methylation testing for triage instead of liquid-based cytology (LBC) within the Netherlands cervical screening programme has now been published as an open access peer reviewed publication in the journal Diagnostics. Self-sample collection for human papillomavirus (HPV)-primary cervical screening has been adopted in some settings to complement traditional Read More >
Economic evaluation comparing two cervical screening strategies in Belgium: HPV primary versus co-testing
Our recent research comparing two hypothetical cervical screening algorithms in Belgium, has been accepted for publication in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention and is now available online as a preprint in medRxiv. In the study, we performed a cost-consequence analysis to evaluate the financial implications and potential benefits of two different screening protocols: 1) Read More >
Economic evaluation of different sampling strategies for cervical cancer screening
Our recently published paper comparing different cervical screening options in England provides early economic evidence that sample self-collection may be a cost-effective option for cervical cancer screening programmes. This work supports decision-making for cervical screening programmes. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, yet most cases are preventable through early detection Read More >
Is it cost effective to screen women for syphilis twice during pregnancy?
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) asked Aquarius to assess the costs and benefits of two different approaches to antenatal screening for syphilis. We compared the current strategy – screening in the first trimester only – with an alternative strategy – screening in the first trimester and a repeat screen later in pregnancy. The Read More >
Improving patient care with rapid point of care tests
Dr Elisabeth Adams, Managing Director of Aquarius Population Health, presented on opportunities for rapid tests in influenza and HPV at international conferences in June. This has been a busy week for the Aquarius Population Health team. We had two posters at the Society for Medical Decision Making in London (12-15th June), which Elisabeth presented. The Read More >