The pap smear has been one of the greatest public health wins of the past century. Deaths from cervical cancer in the U.S. have dropped from 37.5 per 100,000 women to 7.5 per 100,000 women as a result of the simple screening test.
But with our increasing understanding of the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of cervical cancer, the pap test may end up being pushed aside by HPV screening.
Today, 2 Docs Talk about Pap smears, HPV screening, the current recommendations for cervical cancer screening, and the research that may push us to shifting away from the pap smear to the HPV test.
Resources:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60644-9/fulltext?rss=yes
https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Cervical-Cancer-Screening
https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/RecommendationStatementFinal/cervical-cancer-screening#consider