New recommendations indicate that the HPV test could replace the smear to detect cervical cancer.
If you are a woman over the age of 21, there is a good chance that you have already had the uncomfortable test for cervical cancer, known as a “Papanicolaou test”, or ” pap smear “. Today, new guidelines present an alternative method of screening, which could make the pap smear obsolete for women over 30.
The texts published by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) indicate that women can be screened for cervical cancer by testing for “high risk” strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) every five years . We are talking here about analyzing cells found in vaginal and cervical secretions. This means that there is no need to have simultaneous Pap smears.
Every three years instead of once a year
This is because all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV, so testing for the virus before it leads to cancer is a great alternative. For women aged 21 to 29, the UPSTF says a pap smear is still the most effective way to find cervical cancer, but recommendations shift from testing every three years to held once a year.
More specifically, the experts make the following recommendations:
– Women between the ages of 30 and 65 can have the HPV test every five years or a Pap smear every three years, as well as a combination of these two tests every five years.
– Women over 65 who have had clear tests probably do not need further tests.
– Women under 21 do not need testing.
Screening for cancer-linked HPV has surpassed the effectiveness of pap smears
These new directives follow a study conducted earlier this year, which found that screening for cancer-related HPV surpassed the effectiveness of pap smears in women over 30. “Our work has shown that there is now strong evidence for the effectiveness of high-risk HPV tests used alone as a screening test for cervical cancer,” said Joy Melnikow, director of the ‘test.
An estimated 79 million Americans, most in their late teens and early twenties, are infected with HPV through sexual contact. Most of the time, the virus clears naturally, but can sometimes lead to cervical cancer 10 to 15 years later.
In France, cancer of the cervix is the 12th most common female cancer. Screening for precancerous lesions by carrying out a regular screening test has made it possible to halve the number of new cases, as well as the number of deaths, over the past 20 years. The vaccination against the main types of HPV for young girls is a means of complementary action against this cancer.
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