New Pathologists Corner – Dr. KB Wall Recent Changes in Guidelines For Cervical Cancer Screening
Posted: October 10, 2014
The guidelines for the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer were updated in 2012. The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear or Pap test, as it should now be called since it is not only done by smear method, is a proven screening test that has saved many lives from cervical cancer death since it was implemented as part of women’s healthcare in the 1960’s.
Although the Pap test is not perfect, as no test is perfect, it has been responsible for the reduction of cervical cancer deaths. Cervical cancer used to be the most frequent cause of cancer death in American women, but now it is ranked #14 for cancer death in American women, according to cancer statistics published in 2012. It is estimated that about half of women who get cervical cancer have never had a Pap test, and another 10% did not have a Pap test within the last 5 years of their diagnosis of cervical cancer. The Pap test prevents cervical cancer by detecting the precancerous cells in the cervix so that a woman can be treated to destroy the precancerous cells before they can progress to invasive cancerous cells. Although there are other types of cervical cancer, the Pap test is most successful at preventing the squamous cell type of cervical cancer.
