[Cost-benefit of expanding cervical cancer screening].

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the benefit and cost of increasing the coverage of cervical cancer screening.

METHODS

Using an eleven year conventional screening data (universal strategy) and a representative population sample (expanding strategy) to analyze the health and economic impact.

RESULTS

The screening coverage for all 30-59 women in Liuyang was increased from 7.20% to 66.67%. Early detection cases were increased from 20 to 45, and life years saved in one screening term increased from 103.46 years to 925.83 years with expanding strategy as compared with the conventional strategy. The incremental cost per life year saved was 6 917.07 Yuan. The benefit/cost ratio was 1.80:1 at the screening coverage of 66.67%, which was higher than that of the conventional strategy (1.40:1). Both strategies were cost-effective.

CONCLUSION

With various uncertainties and data limitations, expanding screening coverage is more effective than conventional strategy, and more benefit is obtained when the number of early detection cases increases.