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Cancer Screening

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Content last updated 9/04/2024

Cancer Screening

Screening programs provide an opportunity for general practice staff to play a key role in the early detection of a range of cancers. Screening helps increase the prevention and early detection of cancers, improving patient outcomes. Breast, bowel and cervical cancers all have well established national population-based screening programs.

National Cancer Screening Register

The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) plays a vital role in supporting the National Cervical Screening Program and the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. It gives healthcare providers better access to quality health information and makes it easier for program participants to take control of their health.

The three main functions of the NCSR are to:

  • provide a history of screening results to health professionals and participants
  • send invitation and reminder letters to participants
  • provide a safety net for when a person is at risk

General Practices can access the NCSR through the Healthcare Provider Portal to:

  • check patient screening histories
  • check and update patient details
  • manage patient program participation
  • order your patient a National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Test Kit
  • submit information about your patient, such as colonoscopy or colposcopy information, including referral and results, as well as information relating to patients not proceeding to diagnostic follow up.
  • nominate people to assist your patient, including another doctor or a personal representative.

The NCSR can now be accessed directly through integrated clinical software (Best Practice, MedicalDirector, Communicare and Gynaecology Plus). Practices will need to register to enable National Cancer Screening Register functionality, including receiving reminders within patient notes when screening or follow up is overdue. You can find out more information on integration here.

If you need support integrating your clinical software system with the NCSR, you can book an online session for digital support here: National Cancer Screening Register – Registration Help

Practices without integrated clinical software can continue to access the Register through the Healthcare Provider Portal, however they will still need to have registered for access with the NCSR.

CANCER SCREENING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

Bowel Screening
https://gcphn.org.au/patient-care/prevention/cancer-screening/#bowel-screening Copied to clipboard

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) aims to reduce illness and death from bowel cancer through early detection or prevention of the disease.

The program now operates two models to help increase screening participation:  

  1. mail-out model – The NBCSP invites eligible people aged between 50 and 74 years to screen for bowel cancer. Participants are sent a free, clean, easy to use test kit to complete at home. 
  2. alternative access to kits model – The NBCSP now enables healthcare providers to bulk order program kits and issue them to eligible patients. Healthcare providers can help people who have never screened or are overdue for screening to take that positive next step, with patients more likely to do the test after discussion with a trusted healthcare professional. All kits handed to patients must be issued via the NCSR to ensure patients get their results. Learn how to get started with the alternative access to kits model.

Clinical Resources

Patient Resources

Breast Screening
https://gcphn.org.au/patient-care/prevention/cancer-screening/#breast-screening Copied to clipboard

Breast screening is proven to be effective in reducing breast cancer morbidity and mortality in women aged 50 to 74. BreastScreen Queensland offers free breast screening for asymptomatic women aged 40 and over and routinely invites and reminds women aged 50 to 74 to have a breast screen every two years. Some women are offered annual screening. (*Screening is provided to people who were born, present or identify as female).

Around 5% of clients screened will be called back to a BreastScreen assessment clinic for more tests because the mammogram showed an abnormality. For most of these individuals, subsequent tests are normal and breast cancer is not found.

Health professionals can increase people’s confidence in breast screening by helping them to understand:

Patients can book a breast screen through BreastScreen Queensland by calling 13 20 50 or booking online. To find your nearest clinic, see Find a location | Breastscreen Queensland.

Resources

Cervical Screening
https://gcphn.org.au/patient-care/prevention/cancer-screening/#cervical-screening Copied to clipboard

The National Cervical Screening Program reduces illness and death from cervical cancer with regular testing. The Cervical Screening Test looks for human papillomavirus (HPV). The program targets women and people with a cervix from 25 to 74 years of age.

Self-Collection

Under the National Cervical Screening Program, all participants can choose to screen using either a self-collected vaginal sample or a healthcare provider -collected sample from the cervix, accessed through a healthcare provider in both cases.

Recent evidence shows a Cervical Screening Test using a self-collected vaginal sample is as accurate in detecting HPV as a healthcare provider -collected sample taken from the cervix during a speculum examination. A summary of the evidence of self-collection sensitivity can be found in the National Cervical Screening Program Clinical Guidelines. 

Self-collection is not appropriate for patients that require a co-test, for example because they are symptomatic. Patients with symptoms that could indicate cervical abnormalities or cancer require diagnostic testing and should be managed in accordance with the National Cervical Screening Program Guidelines. 

Resources