Frequency of cervical smear-tests among patients of general practitioners.

Eight hundred and thirty-eight women who attended 36 general practitioners were asked when they had last undergone a cervical smear-test. Only 6% of women who were between 25 and 54 years of age had never undergone a smear-test, but in women who were younger and older than this age range the proportion was one-third. We estimated from this pattern of use of cervical smear-tests that only 60% of invasive cervical cancer is being prevented, and the major contribution to the remaining risk factors comes from women of over 55 years of age who either have not undergone a smear-test or had undergone one a long time previously. This information suggests that general practitioners and the public-health system should be more active in ensuring that all at-risk women undergo cervical smear-tests.