Women in England will now be tested for cervical cancer every five years, instead of every three years, health chiefs announced today.
This new protocol will come into effect from July and applies to women aged 25 to 49, who are considered at low risk for this disease, a number that could reach up to seven million people.
This change follows recommendations from the UK's National Committee for Disease Control and is already in use for older women aged 50 to 64 in England.
Modern cervical cancer tests include checking for an infection called human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the precursor to about 99 percent of cervical cancer cases.
If the test is negative, women will not be tested again for five years.
However, those who test positive for HPV will continue to be invited for frequent checkups to monitor any cell changes.
According to the NHS, studies have shown that if a woman tests negative for HPV, she is very unlikely to develop cervical cancer over the next ten years.
Scientists at King's College London have said this new five-year approach is as effective as the traditional cycle of testing and detects the same number of cancers, albeit with less frequent testing.
Activists have welcomed this decision, saying it will make it easier to manage meetings, which can sometimes be uncomfortable.
“Research last year showed that many women find this experience uncomfortable and sometimes difficult to fit into their busy lives,” said Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England – GazetaExpress reports.
“Reducing the number of times they need to appear, along with sensitive and empathetic approaches from healthcare professionals, will make these important encounters easier to manage.”
During a Pap smear examination, a healthcare professional takes a sample of cells from inside the cervix to look for HPV.
If the virus, which is transmitted through sexual intercourse, is detected, other lab tests are done to see if the cells look abnormal — and potentially cancerous — under a microscope.
If abnormal cells are found, women are invited back for a procedure called a colposcopy, where the cervix is examined in more detail.
Those who test positive for HPV but do not have abnormal cells will be monitored annually.
Most of the time, HPV is harmless. But some of its 150 types can, in some cases, invade the genital tract, causing cell mutations and cancer.
Girls have been vaccinated against HPV from the age of 13 since 2008, and boys of the same age since 2019.
Every year in the UK there are around 3,300 new cases of cervical cancer — and 850 deaths.
Perhaps the most famous patient to have died from this disease is reality show star Jade Goody, who died in 2009, at the age of 27, shortly after being diagnosed.
Her tragic death led to a temporary increase in women's participation in the pap tests, although participation has declined in recent years.. /GazetaExpress/
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