The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (a non-government expert group that makes recommendations about preventive health measures) has a new recommendation for screening for cervical cancer.
What they propose includes a significant change in options for cervical cancer screening beginning at age 30.
No screening if under age 21. Beginning at age 21, get a PAP smear (cervical cytology) every 3 years.
Beginning at age 30, self-collect a vaginal sample in a doctor’s office every 5 years (this is a new proposed option).
Although the woman collects the sample herself, it needs to be done in a doctor’s office because the sample must be rapidly preserved in order to be accurate.
If a woman prefers, instead of self-collecting a vaginal sample, she can still continue with a PAP smear every 3 years or have high-risk HPV testing and a PAP smear every 5 years obtained by her doctor in the office.
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) is the primary cause of cervical cancer. If there is no evidence of HPV upon testing, the woman’s risk of cervical cancer is very low.
Regardless of which option a woman age 30 and older chooses, she does not need any screening test beginning at age 65 if she has had adequate screening until then.
A woman, who has had a hysterectomy with removal of the cervix, does not need cervical cancer screening unless she has known high-grade precancerous lesions of the cervix prior to the surgery or found on pathologic evaluation of the removed cervix.
It is important to understand that these RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PRELIMINARY. The USPSTF has released these proposed recommendations for public comment until January 13, 2025. That is why I am publishing this blog.
Peter M. Hartmann, MD
Family Medicine & Psychiatry
