There’s more news on cancer screening tests — this time for women. Scientists advising the government say a Pap test is a good way to screen young and middle-aged women for cervical cancer, and it’s needed only once every three years. But they say there is not enough evidence yet to back testing for HPV, the virus that causes the disease.
That’s at odds with the American Cancer Society and other groups, which have long said that using both tests can be an option for women over 30.
Those groups and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force separately plan to release proposed new guidelines for cervical cancer screening Wednesday and invite public comment.
The task force’s review was published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The same journal also published a study on another women’s cancer issue — breast-cancer screening. That research supports having mammograms every other year instead of annually.
