Postnatal Instead of Normally-timed Cervical Screening (PINCS)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Investigating the acceptability and accuracy of cervical screening and self-sampling in women at 6-weeks postnatal - PINCS

• IRAS ID

  321696

• Contact name

  Jo Morrison

• Contact email

  Jo.Morrison@somersetft.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Cancer of the cervix (neck of the womb) is a common cancer in women. The NHS started the Cervical Screening Programme (NHS CSP) in 1988 to help prevent cervix cancer. Since its introduction the number of cases of cervical cancer have halved but uptake is at an all-time low. The screening involves a speculum (device inserted into the vagina to view the cervix) examination and a swab to take cells from the cervix, this is known as a cervical smear.

  What do we want to find out?
  To know if performing cervical screening 6-weeks after childbirth will be as accurate and acceptable as at 12-weeks after childbirth. If so the NHS CSP could be altered to offer screening at the time of the 6-week postnatal check, which might improve accessibility and uptake.

  Who can participate?
  Women who are 24.5 years old or more, who are pregnant or within 6 weeks of delivering their baby, and who have not had their cervix removed.

  The project;
  In PINCS-1 consenting participants will have a speculum examination and cervical sample (smear test) taken at 6 weeks after birth. They will also be offered urine self-testing for Human Papillomvirus (HPV), the virus that causes abnormal cells on the cervix. Repeat cervical screening and urine testing will be offered at 12 weeks postnatal for matched samples to determine diagnostic test accuracy of sampling and urine HPV testing at 6 weeks postnatal.

  Phase 2 of the study - PINCS-2 - will test the feasibility of randomising participants to either 6 or 12 weeks cervical screening to inform whether further studies can be individually randomised, or whether a cluster randomised design will be needed, to test the effect on uptake rates of screening and longer-term clinical effects on subsequent screening outcomes and development of pre-cancerous cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).

• REC name

  London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  24/LO/0206

• Date of REC Opinion

  20 Mar 2024

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion