Women who are 30 and older can opt out of getting a pap smear and instead take an HPV test that checks for cervical cancer, according to new guidance from an influential medical panel.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-appointed panel that makes healthcare recommendations, has also advised that women between the ages of 21 and 29 continue having pap smears, but can take the test every three years.
The latest recommendations replace those issued in 2012. It now gives women from 30 to 65 years old the option of getting a test for HPV or get Pap and HPV testing every five years or just a pap test every three years.
The types of tests don’t feel very different to patients. They still have to lie down on an exam table and place their legs in stirrups, and the tissue is collected the same way.
But the guidance is expected to save patients time in terms of otherwise undergoing unnecessary follow-ups or biopsies. The HPV test is also better at detecting potential problems, according to a recent study.
A pap smear pulls samples of cervical tissue to examine it for pre-cancerous cells. By the time a woman is 30, the virus can spread into the tissue and cause damage that can lead to cancer. The HPV test is able to find more advanced forms of HPV and detect which ones are dangerous.
HPV is one of the most common types of sexually transmitted diseases, but it can be prevented with a vaccine. In most women, it goes away within a year or two and doesn’t cause any health problems. Still, it can worsen, and can cause men to develop throat cancer.
Cervical cancer was once one of the most common types of deadly cancers among women in the U.S. After the pap smear became part of regular screening, deaths declined by 60 percent from 1955 and 1992, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Now, roughly 13,000 women are diagnosed with it each year and 4,000 women will die as a result, mostly because they weren’t being screened and didn’t have a doctor catch the virus before it turned to cancer. Treatment for pre-cancerous cells is effective in preventing the illness from getting worse.
