[Cervical cancer screening in Germany. Current status].

Cervical cancer screening was introduced in Germany 40 years ago and the incidence of cancer of the cervix has subsequently decreased by close to 70%. The remaining incidence of 5,600 cases per year represents only 2.8% of all newly occurring cases of cancer in women and these cases occur mainly in patients who do not participate in regular screening. Thus, cervical cancer screening by cytological smears has been proven to be successful. The structure of the German cancer screening program is characterized by decentralized organization, exclusive involvement of medical specialists such as gynecologists and pathologists and strict quality assurance. The recruitment is 50% on a yearly basis and the cumulative participation over 3 years reaches 79%. Since 2008 all laboratories are required to report complete data sets to local quality control agencies.The Joint Federal Committee in charge of evaluating new technologies in Germany mandated an inquiry into the possible role of screening by human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. According to this report published by the Institute for Quality Assurance and Efficiency in Healthcare there are indications for advantages. There are, however, no data in the literature as to possible disadvantages of HPV testing. A similar study for the US Preventive Services Task Force was published in May 2011 with almost identical conclusions.