Screening for human papillomavirus, or HPV, is currently recommended at regular intervals. The best recommendation is to perform it at age 25 years or older and repeat it every 3-5 years (Ghebre et al., 2021). Co-testing with Pap smears every 3 years can be considered for women aged 30-65, based on this information. It occurs because HPV, not cervical cells, directly causes cancer. Consequently, it is this testing, not the smear, that can be used to look for precancerous changes earlier and more accurately.
The Pap smear, on the other hand, is not currently widely recommended as a preliminary screening test. However, this is not the case for younger women or those with specific risk factors (Liverani et al., 2020). Such a fact is related to the fact that HPV testing is more effective and able to detect precancerous lesions. Accordingly, the exclusion of less effective practices reduces the need for unnecessary visits and the development of possible health anxiety in individuals.
The increased interval is based on accumulating evidence of the low rate of cervical cancer development. In addition, the association with prior in a large number of cases of persistent HPV infection complements this thesis (Masson, 2021). Thus, the growth of terms and the time intervals between screenings seeks to balance the benefits of early detection of a problem with the potential harms of overdiagnosis mentioned earlier and the costly medical procedures that burden the industry.
Relevant observations have led to the formation of a norm called the 5Ps. It is related to personal observations and includes, according to Robertson et al. (2022):
- Partners – monitoring the number of partners, orientation, identity, and history of each partner.
- Practices – types of sexual intercourse, use of barrier methods of contraception, and any unusual behaviors during sex.
- Protection – consistent condom use, hepatitis B and HPV vaccination status, drug dependence, and other factors that complicate the condition and increase risk.
- Past history of sexually transmitted infections, or STIs -previous diagnoses or previous symptoms, along with possible treatments.
- Pregnancy history and plans – everything related to the birth and process, including miscarriages, abortions, use of concomitant medications, and current attitudes toward the concept of pregnancy.
References
Ghebre, R., Berry-Lawhorn, J. M., & D’Souza, G. (2021). State of the science: Screening, surveillance, and epidemiology of HPV-related malignancies. American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Meeting, 41, 377–388.
Liverani, C. A., Di Giuseppe, J., Giannella, L., Delli Carpini, G., & Ciavattini, A. (2020). Cervical cancer screening guidelines in the postvaccination era: Review of the literature. Journal of Oncology, 2020, 1–14.
Masson, H. (2021). Cervical pap smears and pandemics: The effect of COVID-19 on screening uptake & opportunities to improve. Women’s Health (London, England), 17.
Robertson, C., Mukherjee, G., Gooding, H., Kandaswamy, S., & Orenstein, E. (2022). A method to advance adolescent sexual health research: Automated algorithm finds sexual history documentation. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4.