This website provides information designed for patients and the general public to better understand cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination.
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An HPV test is recommended every 5 years starting at age 25-30 years until the age of 65 years. An HPV test is done by your healthcare provider, who will do an exam and take a sample from the cervix. If you have a pre-cancer, the HPV test will find it more than 90% of the time. If you have a positive HPV test, that does not always mean that you have pre-cancer. Your healthcare provider will usually recommend other tests to check if you have precancer. If you have a negative HPV test result, your chance of developing a pre-cancer in the next 5 years is less than 1 in 1000. Because the risk is so low, it is safe to wait 5 years for your next test after a negative result.
A Pap test is recommended every 3 years starting at age 21 until the age of 65. A Pap test is done by your healthcare provider, who will do an exam and take a sample from the cervix. If you have a pre-cancer, the Pap test will find it 50%-70% of the time. If you have an abnormal Pap test, that does not always mean that you have pre-cancer. Your healthcare provider will usually recommend other tests to check if you have precancer. If you have a negative Pap test result, your chance of developing a pre-cancer in the next 5 years is less than 1 in 200. Pap tests are recommended every 3 years.
Between the ages of 30 and 65 years, screening can also be done with an HPV test and Pap test together every 5 years. This is called co-testing.
For more information on cervical cancer screening, please visit the USPSTF guidelines, American Cancer Society Guidelines and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.For more information on HPV vaccines, please visit: CDC, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or American Cancer Society.
HomePap tests can have several different results:
Biopsies taken at colposcopy can have several different results: