{"meta":{"status":200,"messages":[],"pagination":{"max":1,"offset":0,"count":1,"total":1,"pageNum":1,"totalPages":1,"sort":null,"currentUrl":"https://api.digitalmedia.hhs.gov/api/v2/resources/media.json?offset=0&max=1&ignoreHiddenMedia=1&format=json&id=7982&newUrlBase=http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013","nextUrl":null,"previousUrl":null}},"results":[{"content":"
\nThis page is a historical archive and is no longer maintained.
\nFor current information, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/media/
\nEmbargoed for Noon ET: Thursday, January 3, 2013
Contact: CDC Division of News & Electronic Media, Office of Communication
(404) 639-3286
Some women get Pap tests without need
\nYounger women (30 and younger) are getting screened consistent with newer national recommendations, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a second study, CDC reported that 60 percent of women continue to get Pap tests even after having a total hysterectomy. The two studies are published in today\u2019s issue of CDC\u2019s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
\nIn 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Cancer Society recommended that women, beginning at age 21, should start Pap test screening every three years, and that women should not be screened annually. The same groups agree that screening is unnecessary for most women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and uterine cervix) for non-cancerous reasons, or for women aged 65 years and older with several years of normal test results.
\n\u201cAs we monitor Pap test use among U.S. women, we can make sure that women are being screened in accordance with guidelines, to best maximize the benefits of screening and minimize the harms,\u201d said Meg Watson, M.P.H., an epidemiologist with CDC\u2019s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.
\nThe researchers for both studies analyzed Pap test survey data from CDC\u2019s Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System during 2000 through 2010.\u00c2 They found that screening has become more consistent with current cervical cancer screening recommendations:
\nThey also found that contrary to recommendations:
\n\u201cThe good news is we are focusing our public health efforts on women at highest risk, while decreasing screening for women under age 21, when cervical cancer is rare and screening is not recommended,\u201d said Keisha Houston, Dr.Ph., Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with CDC\u2019s Division of Cancer Prevention Control. \u201cWe need to remain vigilant and increase screening among women who would benefit most from this preventive service.\u201d
\nBecause of the Affordable Care Act, many private health plans and Medicare now cover certain preventive services, including cervical cancer screening, with no copays or other out-of-pocket costs.
\nCDC\u2019s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women access to timely cervical and breast cancer screening and diagnostic services in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and 11 American Indian/Alaska Native tribes or tribal organizations.
\nFor information about CDC\u2019s efforts in cervical cancer prevention, visit http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/index.htm. To learn more about the screening guidelines, visit the CDC\u2019s cervical cancer screening guidelines chart.
\n \n \n