Science / Medicine : Regular Pap Smears Are Effective

Women who are screened at least once every three years for cervical cancer reduce their risk of developing an invasive form of the disease or dying from it by about 90%, researchers reported last week.

An analysis of research conducted in the United States and elsewhere indicates that women between the ages of 20 and 65 who have regular Pap smears have only an 11-in-10,000 chance of dying from cervical cancer, versus a 118-in-10,000 risk for women who are never screened.

Regular Pap smears also reduce the chances a woman will develop invasive cervical cancer, in which cancer penetrates beyond the top layer of cervical cells. Among women regularly screened, the risk for invasive cancer is 35 in 10,000, versus 250 in 10,000 for unscreened women, he said.

Although many doctors recommend women have a Pap smear every year, the new data indicates that Pap tests every two or three years are about as effective as annual tests, said Dr. David Eddy, who headed the study for Duke University’s Center for Health Policy Research and Education and reported the results in the Annals of Internal Medicine.