expert corner
HPV vaccination does not undo the need for cervical cancer screening, which is recommended for all women, even those who have undergone vaccination successful treatment.
Cervical cancer screening requires a doctor or a nurse who takes the exfoliated cells from the surface of the cervix and a pathologist who detects early changes of cancer, if present. Liquid based
The guidelines:
• Cervical screening( PAP or LBC) should start at the age of 21 years and should be performed after every three years till the age of 65 years.
• It is discouraged before this age regardless of
pain, swollen legs, bone fractures, and / or( rarely) leakage of urine or feces from the vagina. Bleeding after douching or after a pelvic examination is another common sign of cervical cancer.
Yet, in most cases cervical cancer does not present with any signs until it has spread well past the cervix to other parts of the body. The disease can be detected in pre-cancerous stage only through regular screening.
Cervical screening: The tests and guidelines
Cervical screening is the best way to detect cervical cancer at an early stage, and increases the rate of cytology( LBC) and PAP tests are the two main methods of cervical screening. Both these tests are non-invasive and essentially painless. These tests are important for disease prevention, as they help in detecting any abnormal cell growth in the cervix before it turns cancerous. Screening is recommended for women between 21 and 65 years as majority of women diagnosed with cervical cancer are under 50 years of age; very few are over 65 years of age. sexual initiation or other high risk factors.
• Women can also get a combined Human Papilloma virus( HPV) test and PAP test every 5 years starting at the age of 30 years.
• If any abnormality is detected, the testing should continue for 20 years from the time of detection.
HPV Vaccination
About 6.6 % of women are estimated to harbor cervical HPV infection at
38 BioVoiceNews | March 2017