Guideline update
Pap tests needed only every 3 years
Women need getting a Pap test — which detects cervical cancer — only once every three years, and do not need to be screened until age 21, even if they are sexually active earlier, according to new guidelines from a U.S. health panel.
In the previous guideline, the recommending screening was "at least every three years," — a weak language, which left the door open for annual tests. The worry about frequent Pap smear screening is that tests can result in a large number of false positives that lead to sometimes painful biopsies and put women at risk for pregnancy complications in the future, like pre-term labour and low-birth-weight infants.
Once they hit 30, women also have the option of getting screened once every five years if they choose to do Pap tests together with human papillomavirus (HPV) testing every time, the committees agreed. Women under 30 should not be tested for HPV because the sexually transmitted infection is common in young people and often goes away on its own, without increasing the cancer risk. Until there is more long-term data on women who have been vaccinated against HPV, they should continue getting normal screening, according to the report.
The recommendation to test every three or five years is based on evidence that cervical cancer is relatively slow-growing. So it is very unlikely a woman would develop advanced cancer in the few years after a negative screening.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments