In a Pap test, a vaginal speculum holds the vaginal walls apart to show the cervix.
Next, a sample of cells from the cervix is collected using a small cone-shaped brush and a tiny plastic spatula (1 and 2)..
Cervical cancer screening is used to find changes in the cells of the cervix that could lead to cancer.
Screening includes cervical cytology (also called the Pap test or Pap smear), testing for human papillomavirus (HPV), or both.
Most women should have cervical cancer screening on a regular basis..
This article is an update of with doi:
Various shortcomings of cervical cytology screening have been suggested as the source of this observation.
One of them is the relatively low sensitivity of a single Pap test, even though the longitudinal sensitivity of repeated cytology is higher.
In cancer screening a high rate of false negative results is a serious weakness.
Updated cervical cancer screening guidelines from ACS recommend starting screening at age 25 with an HPV test and having HPV testing every 5 years through age 65.
However, testing with an HPV/Pap cotest every 5 years or with a Pap test every 3 years is still acceptable.
