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By Lindsay Braun, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- When it comes to detecting cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing may be better than traditional Papanicolaou (Pap) testing.
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Researchers from McGill University in Montreal, collected data from 10,154 women ages 30 to 69. All the women were tested for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (precancerous cells on the cervix) using one of two screening methods; half the women were screened using traditional Pap testing, the other half were screened using a method that tests for the presence of DNA from one or more of the high-risk HPV types.
Christine Vergara, M.D., womens health specialist and gynecologist at The Gynecology Center at Mercy Medical Center, in Baltimore, says because cervical cancer is so commonly linked to HPV, it makes sense to utilize specific testing. Weve found out a lot about cervical cancer in the past few years, so we know now that HPV definitely does cause cervical cancer. And because we know that, it makes sense to screen for the virus to identify people who are at a higher risk of developing it, Dr. Vergara told Ivanhoe.
Research from the Canadian trial revealed HPV testing does have a much greater sensitivity for detecting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia than Pap testing, with only a slightly lower specificity, meaning HPV testing was able to more accurately prove a patient was at risk for cervical cancer. Sensitivity is, if you have a positive test, that it will actually be positive for what you were testing for. And the specificity is, if its negative, that its definitely negative for what youre testing, explained Dr. Vergara.
Not every type of cervical cancer is linked to HPV, so Pap testing may still prove useful in detecting rare forms of cervical cancer, according to Dr. Vergara However, in the general population breakthroughs in identifying HPV have helped make cervical cancer a less dangerous form of cancer.
Cervical cancer used to be a serious problem. It has become much more manageable, Dr. Vergara said about cancer caused by HPV. The other type is extremely rare, and the Pap tests would still look for that. Anytime you have a screening program, youre trying to reduce the risk of the general population developing that disease, Dr. Vergara said.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Interview with Christine Vergara, M.D.; The New England Journal of Medicine, 2007;357:1579-1588
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