National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
The cervical cancer screening programme is facing capacity issues in the laboratories. As a result, invitations for all women who were supposed to receive an invitation in 2026 are being postponed. In 2026, the Erasmus MC, commissioned by the RIVM, conducted an evaluation to assess the impact of postponing the primary screening moments within the cervical cancer screening program on the health of the affected women. A summary of this analysis can be downloaded below.
Cervical cancer is most common in women between the ages of 30 and 60. Every year about 900 people in The Netherlands get cervical cancer, of which about 200 die. Thanks to the population screening, precancerous stages of cervical cancer can be detected early.