HPV screening is effective in preventing cervical cancer even when not performed at five-year intervals Women who wait six or eight years for HPV screening do just as well as women who get a Pap smear every three years Overall, HPV screening is more effective than Pap smears WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- HPV testing to prevent cervical cancer might not have to happen as often as currently recommended, a new study says. Current standards require women to undergo human papillomavirus (HPV) screening every five years. Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by HPV .
But researchers found that waiting eight years for follow-up HPV screening after a woman test negative for the virus is safe and effective. The safety of an eight-year interval is the same as that of the standard three-year interval between a Pap smear, researchers report. “These findings should provide assurance that the five-year interval recommended for HPV screening is even safer than the three-year interval for cytology [Pap] screening,” said researcher Anna Gottschlich , an assistant professor at Wayne State School of Medicine, in Michigan.
During the past two decades, the United States has been transitioning from Pap smears to HPV-based screening for cervical cancer, researchers said in background notes. The U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force currently recommends that women routinely get a Pap smear every three years, HPV screening every five years, or combined Pap and HPV screening every fiv.