The UK National Screening Committee have today recommended replacing FOBT with FIT in the bowel screening programme and that testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV) is recommended as the primary test in cervical screening.

Sir Harpal  Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “This is a very important and positive announcement from the National Screening Committee. The UK’s bowel and cervical cancer screening programmes are crucial in reducing both cancer incidence and deaths, and research shows that the changes to these new tests will make them even more effective.”

"These changes to the bowel and cervical screening programmes were strongly recommended by the Independent Taskforce behind the new NHS cancer strategy for England which I published in the summer. Now I would urge all the governments of the UK to commit to rolling them out as quickly as possible, as Scotland has already pledged to do with the new bowel screening test FIT.”

Source: Cancer Research UK