The Pap test has been the standard screening tool for cervical cancer for years — and it still is. The test checks a sample of cervical cells under a microscope for abnormalities that may lead to cancer.
Lessons learned in the past several years are leading to changes in recommended screening frequency, and a new test is under study, according to the April issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource.
(more…)
In a new collaborative study, the BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), is trying to determine if a test for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) can replace the standard Pap test as the primary method of cervical cancer screening, allowing women to be screened more effectively and less frequently.
The HPV FOCAL Study – the first long term and largest study of its kind in North America is conducted in collaboration with another PHSA agency, the BC Centre for Disease Control, as well as the UBC Department of Family Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine, McGill University department of Epidemiology, and about 100 family doctors in Greater Vancouver.
(more…)
