“Preventing Cervical Cancer: The Importance of Pap Smears and HPV Testing”

2023-05-13 02:15:03

The 46-year-old mother found cancer in her first Pap smear, and the doctor revealed that “three things to prevent” are indispensable

Ms. Chen, a 46-year-old mother of three children, had her first pap smear last year. She did not expect to receive a notice from the hospital that the result of the test was abnormal. The doctor diagnosed it as a precancerous lesion of “moderate variation of cervical epithelial cells”.

Human papillomavirus infection increases risk of cervical cancer

Chen Siyi, an attending physician at the Department of Family Medicine of Chi Mei Hospital, Chi Mei Medical Foundation, pointed out that one of the risk factors for cervical cancer is persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Persistent infection of high-risk HPV may cause cervical cell lesions and eventually form malignant tumors. The main route of transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) is sexual infection.

Physician Chen Sitong added that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a DNA virus that can infect the epidermis and mucosal tissues of the human body. Among them, HPV types 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk human papillomaviruses, which are related to the occurrence of cervical precancerous lesions, cervical cancer, and external genital cancer in men and women.

Pap smear combined with human papillomavirus test improves cancer detection accuracy

According to the clinical guidelines for gynecological cancer diagnosis and treatment published by the Taiwan Cancer Clinical Research Cooperation Organization, foreign studies have shown that most HPV infections in young women are temporary, and 70% of the infections will disappear within one year. At the same time, my country’s data also show that more than half of the infected HPV will naturally disappear within a year. Therefore, the guidelines recommend a Pap smear once a year or every three years, and the combination of HPV testing can significantly improve the accuracy of cervical cancer screening.

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The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that women aged 30 to 65 should have a smear test every three years. If combined with HPV testing, the retest interval can be extended to five years.

Pap smears reduce mortality by 70% HPV vaccine helps prevent

National Health Service research shows that mass Pap smears can effectively reduce cervical cancer mortality by 70%. If cervical cancer is detected at stage 0, the five-year survival rate is as high as 99.5%. Conversely, if it is detected at stage 4, the five-year survival rate drops to 22.8%.

In addition to the whole process of safe sex and passing the first-touch and second-screening, the human papillomavirus vaccine (referred to as HPV vaccine) can also effectively prevent HPV infection. Although the HPV vaccine is most effective for those who are not sexually active or infected with HPV; those who have sexual experience can still be vaccinated; young female friends who have not been vaccinated are also encouraged to choose to vaccinate at their own expense.

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