Although cervical cancer is still the second most common form of cancer in women under 35, there has been a significant reduction in the numbers of people coming forward for cervical screening.

Doctors from the NHS Cancer Screening programme have said this drop in numbers could lead to an increased rate of the disease.

Only 69.4 per cent of the 660,000 women aged between 25 and 29 who were invited for screening attended in 2005/06, compared with a figure of almost 80 per cent of women in 2005. The NHS says screenings were also down in women aged between 30 and 34 by 800 tests a week (approximately).

Director of NHS cancer screening programmes Julia Patnick says initial research suggested some women didn't attend screening because they were concerned it may be embarrassing or painful.

She said: "We are keen to understand why women may be more embarrassed than perhaps 10 or 20 years ago.

"Another key issue could in fact be the effectiveness of the screening programme. A reduction in rates of cervical cancer means it is now a far less common disease so people don't tend to worry about it so much."

Anne Szarewski (pictured right), is a clinical consultant for Cancer Research UK and a researcher into human papilloma virus (HPV), the cause of cervical cancer.

She said: "It's a worry if young women start missing smears. The peak age for cervical cancer to strike is when women are in their late 30s but it can occur earlier."

Cancer Research UK suggested the screening programme has become a victim of its own success. It feels the public may now be less concerned about the risk of cervical cancer because since a national screening programme was launched in 1988, the number of deaths from the disease has fallen from 6,000 to 1,000 every year.

According to the charity, half of all cancers could be prevented by measures such as lifestyle changes and attending screenings when invited.

Your results:

  • One in 12 smears are abnormal
  • You may be invited back again if insufficient cells were taken
  • Most mild changes return to normal on their own
  • Women with severe abnormalities are invited for a colposcopy
  • If treatment is needed it begins straight away, it's almost 100 per cent effective when caught early
  • For more information, visit cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/