Early Detection of Cervical Cancer | This Must Be Considered
Once a year for a smear test, this is what early detection of cervical cancer used to look like. Thanks to a new method, we will soon have to go there less frequently.
The track record is impressive: Thanks to the so-called Pap test (named after its inventor George Papanicolaou), there are now around 70 percent fewer cases of cervical cancer than there were before the introduction of the early detection service in 1971. Since then, the insurance company has paid for a cervical smear test once a year for every woman over 20 to detect cancer and its precursors. This is because cervical carcinoma develops over the course of years through various preliminary stages, so that it can be prevented by removing them in good time. And if it is already cancer, it can be detected so early that it is still curable.
13,170 women contract cervical cancer annually
Nevertheless, around 13,170 women still fall ill in the USA every year. One reason for this is that not all women go for early diagnosis. But also because the Pap test does not always reliably detect the precancerous stages.
Fortunately, however, there is now something better: the HPV test. Gynaecologists have been offering it as an additional service for some time now, but from 2020 it will also be covered by health insurance companies. This test detects whether the uterine cells are infected with the HP virus (HP stands for human papilloma). Without a previous infection, cervical cancer practically never develops. That is why there is the vaccination against HPV, which is recommended for children between the ages of nine and 14.
Determine virus infection by HPV test
The HPV test also involves a smear test, but this is much more likely to detect precancerous lesions than the Pap test. However, there are also more “false positive” results, i.e. suspected cancer which is not confirmed by further examinations. A small disadvantage, which is more than compensated by the much higher hit rate. And if the HPV test is negative, i.e. no viral infection is detected, the risk of cervical cancer developing in the next few years is extremely low. The interval between the early detection dates can therefore be longer.
However, the test does not yet make sense for very young women. This is because HPV infections are very common, and young women who are sexually more active are particularly often affected. The detection of the virus does not yet allow the conclusion to be drawn that there is an increased risk of cancer because most infections heal on their own. For this reason, there will also be a more individualized preventive care offer in Germany in the future, based on the age of the women. This will be scientifically monitored for six years, after which it will be decided how to proceed.
The new features at a glance
From the age of 35, women will be able to take a combination of Pap and HPV testing every three years instead of the annual Pap test. Between the ages of 20 and 34, women will still be offered an annual Pap test. If the result is not correct, however, an HPV test can be carried out in addition, or a colposcopy, i.e. a mirror image of the cervix, can be taken, during which tissue samples can also be taken.
From January 2020, all women between 20 and 65 years of age will receive an information letter from their health insurance company every five years. This letter must provide clear information about the advantages and disadvantages of screening. However, the right to be screened for health insurance costs does not end at the age of 65. You just don’t get an invitation anymore. By the way, there are studies that suggest that the development of cervical carcinoma is very unlikely from the age of 55 if the HPV test has always been inconspicuous before.