Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Towards equity in organised cancer screening : the case of cervical cancer screening in 
France  
 
Version: 1 Date: 01 Nov 2018  
 
Reviewer: Reviewer 2  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
"REVISION ASSESSMENT FROM THE ACADEMIC PEER REVIEWER:  
Has the author addressed your concerns sufficiently for you to now recommend the work as a 
technically sound contribution? Yes  
 
Reviewer comments: Brief summary of the authors' responses  
The authors have responded to all the suggestions included in the peer review.  
 
Background  
The description of proportionate universalism with the relevant reference has been added to the 
Background  section.  
 
Discussion  
Several ethical issues related to the screening process, such as overdiagnosis and individual 
freedom and compulsory vaccination, have been addressed in the Discussion section and 
references were added as suggested. The authors have a lso provided clear responses regarding 
three other ethical issues: screening in elderly patients, limitations due to age difference and 
stigmatisation in risk interventions in ethnic minorities and explained the relevance to the ethical 
issues of the scree ning process in France.  
 
Conclusion  
The authors have addressed all the suggestions of the peer review. Thus, this study can be 
recommended as a technically sound contribution. The current paper will be interesting for both 
clinicians and epidemiologists."  
Are the  methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an  
additional statistical review?  
If an additional stat istical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further  
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
Not relevant to this manuscript  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Acceptable  
 
Declarat ion of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an  
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of this  
manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain or lose  
financially from the publication of this  manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the  
manuscript?  
 
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that 
holds  or has applied f or patents relating to the content of the manuscript?  
 
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6. Do you have any non -financial competing interests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing interests' 
below.  If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
This reviewer has been recruited by a partner organization, Research Square. Reviewers with 
declared or apparent competing interests are not utilized for these reviews. This reviewer has 
agreed to publication of their comments online under a Creative Common s Attribution License 
attributed to Research Square and was paid a small honorarium for completing the review within 
a specified timeframe. Honoraria for reviews such as this are paid regardless of the reviewer 
recommendation.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understand that my name will be included  
on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, my named repor t 
including any attachments I upload will be posted on the website along with the authors'  
responses. I agree for my report to be made available under an Open Access Creative Commons  
CC-BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). I understand  that any comments  
which I do not wish to be included in my named report can be included as confidential comments  
to the editors, which will not be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal