New Cervical Cancer Test May Replace Pap Smear
Researchers at the McGill University in Montreal have discovered a new screening test that's twice as accurate at diagnosing cervical cancer than the old and outdated Pap smear. Even more, with this test, woman will not need to be tested often. For women for experience anxiety at the mere thought of stirrups, this is great news.
According to the research, the test, HPV, spotted 95 percent of cancers versus 55 percent for the Pap smear. Researchers are hoping this test could replace the Pap in a few years. However, the HPV test is expected to cost approximately $50 versus $15-$28 for the Pap. But I don't think women will complain much.
"We've had the Pap test for over 50 years and it's high time it be replaced by technology that's more robust," said Eduardo Franco, director of McGill's division of cancer epidemiology, who led the study.
Franco said some feared the HPV test would result in more false alarms, causing anxiety and requiring more follow-up testing. In the study, there were only slightly more false positives for the HPV tests (6 percent) than the Pap smears (3 percent).
HPV, or human papilloma virus, is a common sexually transmitted disease. Infections are mostly in young women and most go away on their own. The HPV test looks for the high-risk viruses that can cause cervical cancer if the infection persists. Like the Pap, it uses cells scraped from the cervix, the lower part of the uterus.
Because the Pap test misses about half of the cases, doctors use frequent testing to catch the slow developing cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages.
The HPV test has been available in the U.S. since 2000 and was first used for inconclusive Pap tests. Now women over 30 can get a HPV test – but only along with a Pap – and wait three years to be tested again if both tests are negative.
More recently, scientists have been studying whether the HPV test can be used alone and whether it can prolong the intervals between exams. Debbie Saslow, director of breast and gynecologic cancer for the American Cancer Society, said evidence from a number of studies supports using the HPV test in place of a Pap.
"Overall, I don't think there's any doubt that HPV testing has a lot of advantages over the Pap test," she said.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:11 am
IfPAP SMEAR TESTS a big percentage of women around the world were asked to explain what a pap smear test is all about, some would fail.
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:27 am
Wouldn’t this be nice ! Great read, thank you
September 13th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I recently finished my dosages of Guardisil, it’s nice to know that screening techniques are also improving. I’ll be sure to ask my doctor about this at my next gyno visit.
http://medicaloncologyassociation.org/