Mumbai VIA cervical screening trial (Tata Memorial)
Health workers with a torch and vinegar, screening women in Mumbai's slums every two years, cut cervical cancer deaths by 31% in a trial of more than 150,000 women.
Overview
75,360 women in ten screening clusters and 76,178 in ten control clusters were enrolled; screening participation was 89% and compliance with diagnostic confirmation 79.4%. Invasive cervical cancer incidence was similar (26.74 versus 27.49 per 100,000) but cervical cancer mortality fell by 31% (rate ratio 0.69; 95% CI 0.54-0.88; P=0.003), with better treatment completion in the screened group (86.3% versus 72.3%). The authors estimated that this approach could prevent about 22,000 cervical cancer deaths a year in India. Together with Osmanabad it shaped India's operational guidelines for population screening where HPV testing is not yet affordable.
- VIA screening by health workers: 0.7.
- The p-value (0.003) says a difference this large would rarely happen by chance; it does not say how large or how useful the difference is.
- Overall survival counts deaths from any cause, so it is the most direct measure of whether a treatment helps people live longer.
- These results apply to the people the trial enrolled: Cluster-randomised trial in 20 slum clusters of Mumbai: visual inspection with acetic acid by trained primary health workers every 2 years vs health education, women aged 35-64. People in a different situation may not see the same effect.
Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.
Pages like this
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