Long-term mortality reduction was calculated from a maximum of five annual rounds. Because of the short overall duration and continuing entrance of first round screenees, the maximum screening effect could not be reached for many of the participants. Mortality reduction was calculated based on cumulative rates of a mixed trial participation of one to five rounds during up to 5 years. This might lead to a substantial underestimation of the true screening effect compared to a screening programme following approved guidelines (in which participants undergo approximately 10 complete rounds in 20 years) [41].