Tuesday, November 6, 2012

New Pap smear Guidelines from The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists




On October 22, 2012 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a new recommendation for cervical cancer screening. In the U. S. over the last 30 years, Pap smear testing has significantly lowered rates of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is caused by high risk strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). However, most of the HPV strains are transient and do not progress to cervical cancer. The immune system will typically clear these transient strains of HPV in about eight months.

The recommendation states women younger than 21 years should not be screened for cervical cancer regardless of the sexual experience history. Women between the ages of 21-29 years old should be screened once every 3 years if the result of the Pap smear is negative. Women between the ages of 30-65 should be screened using co-testing (Pap smear combined with HPV testing) every five years, if both tests are negative. Cervical cancer screening should be discontinued for women older than 65 years if they have no history of cervical cancer or if the Pap results were negative the past 3 consecutive times. Women who have had a hysterectomy with removal of the cervix, with no history of gynecological cancer, should no longer be screened. Any woman with a history of dysplasia will follow different guidelines until resolved, then they will return to routine testing recommendations. It is important to keep in mind that women with a history of cervical cancer, who are HIV positive, immunocompromised, or were exposed to DES should not follow routine cervical cancer screening guidelines; they must follow more frequent screening.

Here is the video link to explain the new recommendations: http://youtu.be/tzk-wKXiCQU



Reference

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG]. (2012). Ob-gyns recommend women wait 3 to 5 years between pap tests. Retrieved from http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Room/News_Releases/2012/Ob-Gyns_Recommend_Women_Wait_3_to_5_Years_Between_Pap_Tests

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