Getting screened for cervical cancer looks pretty easy. An influential panel of experts is calling for new changes to current recommendations for cervical cancer screening—changes that should result in fewer Pap tests for more women starting in their 30s.
On Tuesday, the US Preventive Services Task Force released its draft guidelines for cervical cancer screening in the US The most notable difference will recommend that women aged 30 to 65 only need to be tested for the most dangerous types of human papillomavirus. HPV) every five years, rather than needing a pap smear every three years. The guidelines should make cervical cancer screening less stressful for most American women.
The USPSTF is under the umbrella of the US Department of Health and Human Services, but its members are voluntary outside experts brought in to review evidence and provide recommendations on a variety of topics related to preventive health care, including cancer screening. Its guidelines are widely followed by health care professionals and can influence insurance coverage of interventions such as vaccines.
Currently, the USPSTF recommends that women ages 20 to 29 begin screening for cervical cancer every three years with a cervical cytology (pap smear). Women between the ages of 30 and 65 are currently recommended to get a pap smear every three years, a high-risk HPV test every five years, or a combined pap smear/HPV test every five years. The USPTF’s recommendations for women in their 20s remain the same, but its experts now say women over 30 should only opt for HPV testing every five years. This test works by looking at samples from a woman’s genitals to detect the types of HPV infection that are known to increase the risk of cervical cancer. Women over the age of 65 are generally not advised to screen for cervical cancer if they have had regular screening in the past and are not at high risk otherwise, and no women who have had a total hysterectomy (where the cervix is removed) do not have a history of cervical cancer. ulcers.
The USPTF’s stated reason for the change is simple enough. High-risk HPV infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer, accounting for almost all cases. And for women over the age of 30, looking for these diseases first and foremost seems to be the most useful way to find cervical cancer as early as possible, based on the evidence evaluated by the USPTF. Additionally, the USPTF has determined that the HPV tests it collects are just as valid for testing as those performed by a health professional. Two HPV tests were recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration this year for self-collection.
“Recent science shows that cervical cancer screening with HPV testing is an appropriate option for women ages 30 to 65 years old,” said Task Force vice chair John Wong, a primary care physician in the Department of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center. , in a statement from the USPTF announcing the news.
The guidelines still call for women over the age of 30 to get pap smears or combined tests if routine HPV testing is not available. And patients and their doctors can always choose the method they like best. It is possible that the draft recommendations of the USPTF could change significantly before they are finalized next year, although this rarely happens (as usual, the USPTF allows the public and outside experts to evaluate their decision, and the comment period is open until the middle of the day. -January). If these new guidelines are implemented as expected, they should make cervical cancer screening a less time-consuming and resource-intensive experience for many US women.
The expansion of screening and the advent of vaccines that prevent high-risk HPV infections have greatly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in the US and worldwide in recent decades, although it remains the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide.
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