"Middle-Age Women Can Choose Pap Smear Or HPV Test For Cancer Screening" - Andrew Seaman
Middle-aged women can choose which test to undergo for cervical cancer screening, according to a draft recommendation from an influential group backed by the U.S. government. Cervical cancer was once a leading cause of cancer death for women in the US, but the death rate has been cut in half thanks mostly to screening, according to the American Cancer Society. A woman’s experience does not differ by the screening; both of the tests require analysis of cells scraped from the cervix. But the Pap test - also known as cytology - looks for potentially cancerous cells on the cervix. The HPV - or hrHPV - test looks for the virus that can cause cervical cancer. The American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists (ACOG) still recommends Pap testing alone or in conjunction with HPV testing, said Linus Chuang, MD, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and fellowship director of minimally invasive surgery in gynecology. “I don’t think this will make American obstetricians and gynecologists change practice, because they will look at ACOG as gold standard,” said Dr. Chuang, who was not involved with the new recommendations. “But this will challenge it.”
- Linus Chuang, MD, Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Fellowship Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery in Gynecology
Additional coverage: