“…In Portugal, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, the standardized incidence and mortality rates were 18.8 and 6 to 7 cases per 100,000 women, respectively (Arbyn, Raifu, Autier, & Ferlay, 2007). In Ireland, Spain, and Portugal, increased mortality has been reported, which is explained most plausibly by the absence of a population-based screening program or the low quality and coverage of present opportunistic screening (Comber & Gavin, 2004;Levi, Lucchini, Negri, Franceschi, & La Vecchia, 2000;Llorca, Rodriguez-Cundin, Dierssen-Sotos, & Prieto-Salceda, 2006). These data clearly illustrate that cervical cancer still remains a considerable public health problem in Europe in spite of the consistent evidence underpinning the efficacy of cytological screening (Arbyn et al, 2007).…”