Evaluation of Cancer Screening Programs in Finland: Objectives, Challenges, and Efficacy
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Presentation Transcript
Nea Malila Mass Screening Registry, Cancer Society of Finland and University of Tampere, Tampere School of Public Health HSB examples from Finland
Purpose of screening • Main aim is to reduce mortality • From the disease screened • Sometimes also to reduce incidence • E.g. Cervix cancer • To improve quality of life • Evaluation? Means of screening • early diagnosis • finding pre-invasive lesions
Evidence needed • General proof on efficacy: • Screening works in principle • In ideal conditions screening results in reduction of mortality as demonstrated by a randomised screening trial • Specific proof on effectiveness: • Screening as a public health policy (or as a routine health service) results in reduction in mortality in the target population as shown preferably by a randomised design
What is the evidence for public health policy? • Direct evidence, conclusive • randomised allocation of screening within the routine • Indirect evidence, inconclusive • time trends • geographical differences • survival difference between localised and nonlocalised disease
Evaluation of public health activities • Effects on health often small – design to identify even small differences • Traditionally before-after comparisons – crude • Case-control studies - biased • Contradictory effect, e.g. screening can reduce both mortality and quality of life • Therefore, for practical reasons, mortality is regarded as the most important effect • Means not to be intermixed with effects (e.g. finding of early cases is not sufficient evidence) • Common misunderstandings: • Not enough cancers found – bad programme (cervix) • Late stages found – bad programme (colorectal)
Breast cancer screening • Nationwide population based screening introduced in Finland in 1987 • A group randomised design was used: Women born in odd years were controls during the first years of the programme • Women born in even years (aged 50-64) were invited for screening starting with 3 age cohorts and expanding gradually over the next four years to cover the target population • Over the years 1987-89 76400 women were screened, 13500 invited but not screened and 68800 were controls • References: • Hakama M et al. BMJ, 1997, 314:864-867 • Hakama M et al. J Med Screen, 1999, 6:209-216
Number of new cases and deaths from breast cancer in 1987-1989
Analysing at the individual level • External control – total bc mortality in the invited compared to all Finland • Biased, participating municipalities not fully representative • Weakened by inclusion of deaths from cancers diagnosed before screening • Internal control – total mortality • Removes bias from self selection but still weakened by the inclusion of deaths from cancers diagnosed before screening • Internal control – refined mortality • Confining deaths to cancers diagnosed after onset of screening removes both bias and dilution of effect
RR for refined mortality ratios for breast cancer in 1987-92
SMR using refined breast cancer deaths with different time windows for diagnosis and follow-up
Colorectal cancer screening • A population based routine programme for CRC screening • is it feasible and effective in Finland (effectiveness)? • gradual implementation in the target population • Individual level randomisation: screening and control groups • Open questions: • Acceptance of the population – attendance rates • Colonoscopies, need, acceptance, and quality • Need of information and guidance • Programme costs in Finland • Effectiveness in Finland as a public health policy
The effects of screening during the first two years • Invited to screening: 15% of the target population (60-69-year olds) by year • In Finland the entire target population 500 000 • Maximally 80 000 invited /year • At present the colonoscopy capacity roughly 50 000 (to even 100 000)colonoscopies/year • Need of colonoscopies c.1100/year in the entire country (if 2% positive) – only marginal increase in resources
Launch of screening in 2004 • A population-based screening programme in 22 pilot municipalities • In 2008, 190 municipalities had joined in • Centrally planned, organised and run • Gradual implementation in the target population over time (randomisation into screening and control popul.) • Gradual expansion over regions • Main aim to reduce colorectal cancer mortality • Evaluation (until effectiveness) of the programme built in • Testing feasibility (practical issues, compliance, test results, colonoscopy process) within the public health care system in Finland
Why was this kind of programme designed? • Also any routine activity e.g. screening needs to be evaluated without bias • Evaluation should be done when the program is new and randomisation is still possible • Later if established as routin, it could be considered unethical not to offer screening to all, at this point resurces are not sufficient to screen everybody + we are not yet sure about the effect • Spontaneous screening (unorganised) cannot be evaluated and effectiveness cannot be determined • Costs less if organised (total cost + resource allocation) • An organised programme can be stopped if needed
Evaluation • The randomised design allows comparison between the screening and control arms • Cancers and deaths followed through national registries (statistics Finland, Finnish Cancer Registry) • Both screened and controls can be followed through register linkage with practically no loss to follow-up (personal id) • First years: performance, compliance, positivity rate, colonoscopy performance • After 10-15 years mortality will be compared between screened and controls
References • Malila N, Anttila A, Elovainio L, Hakulinen T, Jarvinen H, Paimela H, Pikkarainen P, Rautalahti M, and Hakama M: [Screening of colorectal cancer in Finland and analysis of its cost-effectiveness]. Duodecim 2003; 119: 1115-1123. In Finnish. • Malila N, Anttila A, Hakama M: Colorectal cancer screening in Finland: details of the national screening programme implemented in Autumn 2004. J Med Screen 2005; 12:28-32. • Malila, N., Oivanen, T., Rasmussen M. and Malminiemi, O.: Suolistosyövän väestöseulonnan käynnistyminen Suomessa. Suom. Lääkäril. 2006: 61: 1963-1967 (in Finnish). • Malila, N., Oivanen, T. and Hakama, M.: Implementation of colorectal cancer screening in Finland: Experiences from the first three years of a public health programme. Z Gastroenterol 2007; 46 Suppl 1: S25-8. • Malila N, Oivanen T, Malminiemi O, Hakama M. Test, episode, and program sensitivities of screening for colorectal cancer as a public health policy in Finland. BMJ 2008;337:a2261.