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