US women unnecessarily screened for cervical cancer...

Many women in the United States who have had a hysterectomy are undergoing PAP smear screening even though they are not at risk of cervical cancer, according to a new study.

The finding shows that a 1996 recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has largely been ignored by women and their doctors. The recommendation was that women who have undergone complete hysterectomies in which the uterus and cervix have been removed for reasons other than cancer need not undergo Pap tests.

"It is possible that women who have had a total hysterectomy are not aware that they are no longer at risk for cervical cancer," the authors wrote. "Or they may simply be so enthusiastic about cancer screening that they continue to have Pap smears regardless of the usefulness of the test. It is also possible that physicians are largely responsible for continuing cervical cancer screening after hysterectomy."

The research team evaluated the information from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (1992 – 2002) an annual, population-based telephone survey of U.S. adults conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They analyzed the timing of Pap tests among 187,670 women surveyed.

They found that 22 million U.S. women 18 years and older have undergone hysterectomies, representing 21 percent of the population. In 1992, before the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, 68.5 percent of women who had undergone hysterectomy reported having had a Pap smear in the past 3 years. In 2002 (6 years after the recommendation), the researchers found that 69.1 percent had had a Pap smear during the same period. [cancerfacts.com]

Posted July 2004 | Permanent Link


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