ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is updating its cervical cancer screening guidelines for women and is officially recommending that doctors allow women to collect their own samples for human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer testing.
The move comes as the task force aims to make these screenings more accessible and less uncomfortable, addressing one of the reasons some women avoid testing.
New Testing Recommendations
The USPSTF’s new guidelines recommend the following for cervical cancer and HPV testing:
- Women ages 30 to 65 should be tested for HPV every 5 years (this is a new addition to the Task Force’s recommendations). Alternatively, women can choose to have a Pap test every 3 years, or a combined Pap and HPV test every 5 years.
- Women ages 21 to 29 should get a Pap test every 3 years.
In addition to the updated testing schedules, the USPSTF also recommends that samples for HPV testing can be collected either by a doctor or by the patient herself (this is a new addition to the Task Force’s recommendations).
USPSTF’s Vice Chair Dr. John Wong tells AP News that studies have shown self-collected samples have similar accuracy to those taken by a healthcare professional…