PAP Smear


The new guidelines recommended Pap testing every 3 years for women aged 21 to 65 years. In addition, women aged 35 to 60 years could be screened every 5 years when screened with a combination of Pap smear and HPV testing. Women older than age 65 years who are at low risk can stop cervical cancer screening all together. These recommendations were also presented by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
With the health care community only just adjusting to these updated screening recommendations, even more changes may be around the corner. In April, the FDA expanded the label for one of the HPV tests available on the market, the cobas HPV Test (Roche), approving it as a stand-alone test for primary screening of cervical cancer. Using this test, women who test positive for HPV 16 or 18 should undergo follow-up with colposcopy and those who test positive for one of the other 12 types of high-risk HPV types should undergo Pap testing to clarify the need for colposcopy.
The test’s approval was based on the results of the ATHENA study, which evaluated 47,208 women aged 21 years or older. Results of the study indicated that one in four women who tested positive for HPV 16 had cervical cancer within 3 years and that one in seven women who had normal Pap tests but were positive for HPV 16 had high-grade cervical disease missed by cytology alone.
“There is concern about using HPV testing alone in women between ages 25 and 29 because so many of these women will be HPV positive,” said Edward Evantash, MD, Medical Director and VP of Medical Affairs at Hologic. “Most adults will naturally and spontaneously eliminate the HPV infection and testing for HPV alone in that group may create a great deal of unnecessary anxiety and lead to unnecessary invasive procedures.”
The Society for Gynecologic Oncologists and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology have announced plans to release interim guidelines on cervical cancer screening that will discuss use of the HPV test as a first-line screening method. In addition, the American Cancer Society is reviewing its guidelines and considering this new information.


Cervical Cancer Screening Tests Continue to Evolve September 09, 2014 | Gynecological Oncology, HPV By Leah Lawrence - 

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