Clinicians May be Screening for Cervical Cancer Too Often
Clinical guidelines currently recommend screening low-risk women for cervical cancer every three years after age 30, but most primary care clinicians report that they would advise testing for the disease more frequently. Adding a test for human papillomavirus (HPV) to screening protocols does not increase a clinicians reported adherence to guidelines, but may make them less likely to extend screening intervals. This report was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Annual Pap testing has helped reduce the burden of cervical cancer in the U.S. Citing evidence that screening annually does not improve outcomes when compared with screening every three years, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has long recommended screening intervals up to every three years.
A recently improved understanding of HPV infection and its role in cervical cancer, along with HPV tests, have resulted in stronger recommendations from the American Cancer Society and American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology to extend screening intervals without requiring normal Pap tests.
The authors claim, “Cost-effectiveness and other studies evaluating HPV co-testing [combining HPV and Pap tests] in the United States and elsewhere have concluded that lengthening screening intervals is a fundamental assumption and advantage of HPV co-testing.”
Mona Saraiya, M.D., M.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues surveyed over 1,200 primary care physicians, of whom 950 had performed Pap tests and had recommended the HPV test for their patients. The clinicians-who included general practitioners, family practitioners, obsetrician-gynecologists and general internists-were asked to report their screening recommendations.
For a 35-year-old woman with no new sex partners in the past five years and three normal Pap test results, nearly 32 percent of clinicians reported they would recommend the next Pap test in three years and 31 percent would recommend the next Pap test in one year. However, for a 35-year-old woman with only one normal Pap test and a normal HPV test, 19 percent of clinicians would extend the screening interval to three years, whereas 60 percent would recommend annual testing.
The authors believe that cost-effective models for testing “suggest that the practice patterns we found in our study are likely to increase costs with little improvement in reducing cervical incidence and increasing survival. Overuse of screening is expensive for the health care system and may result in unnecessary follow-up testing, increased risk of colposcopy-associated morbidities and adverse birth outcomes and distress for patients.”
Disclaimer
Featured Doctors
Sterotactic Radiosurgery Bronx
Lucia Boselli
The Eastchester Center for Cancer Care
2330 Eastchester Road
Bronx, NY 10469
Call: (888) 860-7136
Cancer Bronx, NY
Alfred Rosenbaum
Eastchester Center for Cancer Care
2330 Eastchester Road
Bronx, NY 10469
Call: (888) 860-7136
Breast Cancer Testing MRI/ CT Scan Yonkers
Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging | Women's Imaging Center
Lawrence Hospital Center | Outpatient Services
55 Palmer Ave, 1st Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: (888) 544-1169
Breast Cancer Westchester, NY
Tauseef Ahmed, M.D.
Westchester Oncology & Hematology
19 Bradhurst Avenue
Hawthorne, NY 10532
Call: 888-370-4284
Texas Colonoscopy Centers
The Texas Colonoscopy Centers
The MicroSurgery Institute
,
Call: 888-493-1243
Breast Cancer Surgery Bronxville, Westchester County, New York
Preya Ananthakrishnan, M.D.
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Breast Cancer Surgeon Westchester, NY
Preya Ananthakrishnan, M.D.
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Sterotactic Radiosurgery Bronx
Lucia Boselli
The Eastchester Center for Cancer Care
2330 Eastchester Road
Bronx, NY 10469
Call: (888) 860-7136
Oncologist
Michael Castro
Personalized Cancer Medicine, PLLC
1329 Lusitana St. Suite 609
Honolulu, HI 96813
Call: (808) 521-0100
Breast Cancer Diagnosis Westchester, NY
Preya Ananthakrishnan, M.D.
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Cancer Bronx, NY
Alfred Rosenbaum
Eastchester Center for Cancer Care
2330 Eastchester Road
Bronx, NY 10469
Call: (888) 860-7136
Breast Cancer Screening and Detection using MRI/ CT Scan Rye
Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging | Women's Imaging Center
Lawrence Hospital Center | Outpatient Services
55 Palmer Ave, 1st Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: (888) 544-1169
Breast Cancer Testing MRI/ CT Scan Yonkers
Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging | Women's Imaging Center
Lawrence Hospital Center | Outpatient Services
55 Palmer Ave, 1st Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: (888) 544-1169
Gamma Knife Radiation Treatment/Bronx
Anthony Hoffman
The Eastchester Center for Cancer Care
2330 Eastchester Road
Bronx, NY 10469
Call: (888) 860-7136
Spine Surgeon Westchester, NY
Bennie Chiles
Westchester Spine and Brain Surgery, PLLC
280 N. Central Ave Suite 235
Hartsdale, NY 10530
Call: 914-332-0396
Cancer Treatment Centers of America Locations
Cancer Treatment Centers of America
,
Call: 888-417-1667
Breast Cancer Oncology Westchester, New York
The Columbia University Comprehensive Breast Center at Lawrence Hospital
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue, First Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Breast Surgeons Westchester, NY
The Columbia University Comprehensive Breast Center at Lawrence Hospital
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue, First Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Breast Cancer Screening and Detection using MRI/ CT Scan Rye
Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging | Women's Imaging Center
Lawrence Hospital Center | Outpatient Services
55 Palmer Ave, 1st Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: (888) 544-1169
Breast Cancer Care Bronxville, Westchester County, New York
Preya Ananthakrishnan, M.D.
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Ovarian Cancer Westchester, NY
Tauseef Ahmed, M.D.
Westchester Oncology & Hematology
19 Bradhurst Avenue
Hawthorne, NY 10532
Call: 888-370-4284
Cancer Alternatives Las Vegas, NV
Daniel Royal
Royal Medical Group
9065 S. Pecos Rd., Ste. 250
Henderson, NV 89074
Call: 888-664-7161
Breast Cancer Testing MRI/ CT Scan Yonkers
Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging | Women's Imaging Center
Lawrence Hospital Center | Outpatient Services
55 Palmer Ave, 1st Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: (888) 544-1169
Colon Cancer Westchester, New York
Center for Advanced Surgery | Colorectal, GI and Endocrine Surgery
Lawrence Hospital Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue, First Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: 888-468-9351
Breast Cancer Screening and Detection using MRI/ CT Scan Rye
Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging | Women's Imaging Center
Lawrence Hospital Center | Outpatient Services
55 Palmer Ave, 1st Floor
Bronxville, NY 10708
Call: (888) 544-1169
Specialities
- Acupuncture
- Alternative Medicine
- Bariatric Surgery
- Breast Cancer
- Breast Surgery
- Cancer Treatment
- Cardiology
- Chiropractic
- Cosmetic Dentistry
- Cosmetic Surgery
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- Facial Enhancement
- Fertility Treatment
- Foot Specialist
- Foot Surgery
- Gastroenterology
- General Surgery
- Geriatrics
- Hair Replacement
- Hematology
- Infectious Diseases
- Infertility Treatment
- Integrative Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- LASIK
- Laser Hair Removal
- Medical Editorial Board
- Medical Spa
- Medical Testing
- Neurology
- Neuropathy
- Nursing Home Services
- Nutrition and Diet
- Obstetrician & Gynecology
- Oncology & Cancer
- Oncology Center
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Orthopedics
- Pain Management
- Physical Therapy
- Plastic Surgery
- Podiatry
- Spinal Decompression
- Spine Surgery
- Sports Medicine
- Stem Cell Therapy
- Thoracic Surgery
- Vascular Surgery
- Vein Surgery
- Weight Loss