Finding Dulcinea
November 20, 2009 04:30 PM
New screening guidelines for cervical cancer say girls can wait until age 21 to begin Pap tests, though it is unclear how these recommendations will impact current HPV vaccination guidelines.
The guidelines released by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encourage a shift toward less cervical cancer screening among women. In addition to delaying a woman’s first Pap test to the age of 21, the new guidelines recommend less frequent testing thereafter—once every two years until age 30.
The changes were made due to the rarity of contracting cervical cancer before the age of 21, and to avoid over-treatment and complications from the test. According to the ACOG, “Moving the baseline cervical screening to age 21 is a conservative approach to avoid unnecessary treatment of adolescents which can have economic, emotional, and future childbearing implications. … Although the rate of HPV infection is high among sexually active adolescents, invasive cervical cancer is very rare in women under age 21.”
Pap Test Guidelines and Gardasil
The guidelines released by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encourage a shift toward less cervical cancer screening among women. In addition to delaying a woman’s first Pap test to the age of 21, the new guidelines recommend less frequent testing thereafter—once every two years until age 30.
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