In 2011 researchers of the Mass Screening Registry at the Finnish Cancer Registry started a study among non-attendees of the cervical screening program in urban, semi-urban and rural areas of the country. Earlier, a successful pilot study in the urban municipality Espoo had shown that the Delphi Screener was a feasible option in enhancing attendance to the cervical cancer screening program*. In this new study non-attendees of the screening program residing in 22 municipalities receive  a reminder letter. Women not responding to the reminder letter are offered the Delphi Screener. Anni Virtanen et al. recently submitted a manuscript to a Finnish medical journal  ”Duodecim” with interim results. These first results confirm that self-sampling with the Delphi Screener improves screening attendance, particularly when used in addition to a reminder letter. Offering self-sampling to this group of women provides the opportunity to further improve the outstanding Finnish screening program. The Hybric Capture 2 high risk type Human Papilloma Virus DNA screening test of Qiagen is used as a validated test for the Delphi Screener.

*  Self-sampling versus reminder letter: effects on cervical cancer screening attendance and coverage in Finland. Anni Virtanen et al – International Journal of Cancer 2011, 128 (11); 2681–2687.
Self-sample HPV test as an intervention for nonattendees of cervical cancer screening in Finland: a randomized trial.Anni Virtanen et al – Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011, 20(9):1960-1969.