December 11, 2024
Thom Carroll/Philly Voice
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has endorsed the use of a new cervical cancer screening that allows women to self-collect samples for HPV tests. HPV is an infection that causes nearly all cervical cancer cases.
Women 30 and older should be given an opportunity to self-test for cervical cancer, a federal health panel advised this week as part of an effort to expand screenings to groups that do not get enough adequate preventative and follow-up health care.
In draft recommendations issued Tuesday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force endorsed a new cervical cancer screening option that allows women to collect their own samples to test for human papillomavirus, a sexually-transmitted infection that causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
In July, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of two tests that allow people to self-collect cervical samples for HPV. Prior to this, cervical cancer screenings required a clinician to collect cervical cells during a pelvic exam.
"Women who would be more comfortable collecting their HPV test sample themselves can now do so," task force member Dr. Esa Davis said in a news release. "We hope that this new, effective option helps even more women get screened regularly."
The number of women who have cervical cancer and death rates from the disease have dropped by more than 50% over the past 40 years, but cervical cancer is still the second-leading cancer cause of death for women ages 20 to 39, according to the American Cancer Society. Nationwide, there were approximately 14,000 new cervical cancer cases and nearly 4,400 deaths in 2024.
The new guidelines drafted by the task force – a panel of independent medical experts who make research-based recommendations to guide doctors about best practices – say women 21-29 should get a Pap smear every three years to screen for cervical cancer. After that, women 30-65 can be screened every five years with an HPV test. Women within this age range can self-collect their samples in a medical setting, similar to giving a urine sample in a doctor's office. They also can choose to get a Pap smear every three years or a combined Pap and HPV test every five years, according to the new recommendations.
In establishing its new guidelines, the task force considered research showing:
• Poor survival rates in Black women are caused by a greater probability of diagnoses at advanced stages, limited access to treatment, delays in treatment and the intersection with other risk factors and barriers.
• Women in rural communities are less likely to complete cervical cancer screenings and experience higher rates of late-stage diagnoses than women living in metropolitan areas.
• Women with disabilities – particularly sensory, physical and multiple disabilities – are less likely to receive recommended cervical cancer screenings compared to women without disabilities.
• Sexual and gender minorities, particularly lesbian and bisexual women as well as transgender men who retain their cervixes, are less likely to be screened for cervical cancer and may be at greater risk for malignancy compared to heterosexual and cisgender women.
The new recommendations are similar to the task force's 2018 guidelines. The task force does not recommend cervical cancer screening for women under 21, women over 65 with a history of normal Pap smears or women who have had hysterectomies.
The task force's recommended guidelines for HPV screening are available for public comment through Jan. 13.
