Although women have longer life expectancies than men, they can expect to experience a greater proportion of their lives in ill-health; yet they are under-represented in clinical trials and research. As a result, the renewed women's health strategy not only reports that is there inadequate understanding of specific women’s health issues, but there is also a lack of appreciation and knowledge of the different manifestations of many conditions in women, compared with men.

The strategy aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 as set out in the Cervical cancer elimination plan for England

Cervical cancer cases in the UK are decreasing but the disease continues to be a major public health issue. Cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cancer among women and people with a cervix under 35 years of age¹ and is the 14th most common cancer in females in the UK.²

To ensure continued effectiveness of the programme and sustainability to achieve its targets, including the NHS England target of eradication of cervical cancer by 2040, there must be constant evolution and innovation applied to the operation and delivery systems.

Adaptation of labs and cellular pathology departments is necessary to accommodate the use of new technologies and molecular tools, and the integration of self-sampling specimens into routine work, and to provide infrastructure support for the evolving workforce requirements. This is a necessity for quality assurance, diagnostic accuracy and continued provision of a high standard of patient care.

Cytology, histopathology and other laboratory services are central to the prevention and diagnosis of cervical cancer. There are significant workforce pressures and staff shortages which pose challenges in the delivery of these services to eliminate cervical cancer. We need a vision for the pathology workforce which looks to the needs of the cervical screening programmes of the future and includes the training and retention of staff.

Improving Women’s Health in Cardiovascular disease

Hypertension is often a silent disease but can cause significant damage to the heart and other organs if left untreated. Monitoring relies on regular blood pressure measurement, which lies outside the scope of pathology services. The challenge is encouraging routine checks to prevent long-term complications.

Diabetes, on the other hand, can be detected through blood or urine glucose testing. Long-term outcomes depend on early detection and effective control, which can be monitored using HbA1c. Regular testing is essential to optimize management and improve disease control.

Improving access to testing through point-of-care (POC) methods could increase uptake, but this must be supported by a robust system that ensures individuals can access appropriate healthcare for any issues identified. Social media can play an important role in prompting people to undergo these simple tests. Laboratories, in turn, must support point-of-care testing through quality control initiatives and ensure appropriate follow-up of abnormal results.

Better outcomes depend on early diagnosis, effective monitoring, and timely intervention. The key challenge is detecting "silent" disease before irreversible damage occurs.

The strategy promises to improve cancer outcomes for women through expanding the NHS genomic testing offer

Pathology is at the core of genomic medicine. The expansion and embedding of genomic testing in patient care has been transformational; genomic medicine is already providing faster, more accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment for patients with cancer and inherited diseases, with new advances being made all the time. There needs, however, to be continued investment, innovation and research to ensure patients benefit from genomic tests no matter where they live, so that pathologists can identify and select the best treatments possible for each individual.

While there has been significant investment in genomics, there needs to be continued resource provision for the dramatically increasing workload genomics creates for cellular pathology to process and analyse histological samples for genomic testing. Without this being addressed, the ability to support the quality and level of genomic service desired will be severely limited. Standardisation of sample preparation and tumour assessment to optimise genomic testing is required. There needs to be a realistic view of cost-effective treatments with good benefit outcomes.

References

1. Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID) Cervical Screening Awareness Campaign 2022. Accessed September 2025. Available at: campaignresources.dhsc.gov.uk/campaigns/help-us-help-you-cancer/cervical-screening/
2. Cancer Research UK. Cervical cancer mortality statistics. Accessed September 2025. Available at: www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/cervical-cancer/mortality#heading-Zero)