Julie Goldenberg is a journalist based in New York City. She was a former associate editor at AARP where she reported on aging in America. Her work has appeared in AARP the Magazine, AARP.org, and Forbes.
A new option for cervical cancer screening gives patients a less-invasive alternative to conventional tests.
Though more than 30 types of HPV can infect the genitals, only a small number — referred to as"high-risk" HPV — are associated with cancer. Low-risk HPV tends to have no symptoms and clears on its own, although sometimes, genital warts may appear. Nonetheless, this low-risk type of infection rarely leads to cancer.
In the event someone develops high-risk HPV, there is no cure, but abnormal cervical cells can be removed before they cause cancer. It is important to note that these are not diagnostic tests. Instead, their intent is to flag individuals at high risk of developing cancer or precancer. A positive result on any of these tests would require further testing — often a colposcopy-directed biopsy — to receive a diagnosis. .
Why is cervical cancer screening important? Cervical cancer screening has been found to greatly reduce death rates from cervical cancer. For example, in England, regular screening is estimated to reduce cancer mortality by 70%, according to a 2016 study published in Nature. The idea is that, with routine screening and follow-up tests, cancer can be detected and treated early before it progresses to a more advanced, treatment-resistant stage of the disease.
Generally, the patient is instructed to insert a long cotton swab into the vagina and then gently swirl it for 20 to 30 seconds to collect an adequate sample. The sample is then left at the health care provider's office, and from there, it is sent to a lab for analysis.
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