Pap Smear Every Year and Have No Fear

It was 1928 when George N. Papanicolaou discovered that cellular changes in the genital tract of guinea pigs could be used to predict which of the animals would get cancer. It was years later when this was recognized as a useful screening test for cancer in humans.

The pap smear is not perfect. Even at a good lab there is a 5-10% false negative rate. Fortunately, there is usually a lag time of several years between the pre-cancerous cervical changes that can be detected on a pap smear and invasive cancer of the cervix which can follow. This is why pap smears are done on a yearly basis by many Gynecologists. This allows any false negatives to be repeated in a year, be re-examined by the lab, and be correctly diagnosed.

We also use a new liquid based pap that is not a smear. The cells are put in a solution and sprayed on the slide. This prevents the cells from being piled up on the slide and also removes bacteria and cervical mucus that can obscure the appearance of the cells and cause errors in interpretation. We also now check for human papilloma virus (HPV). The pap smear is not perfect, but, if it is done by a good lab in conjunction with yearly Gynecologic follow-up, it can markedly reduce your risk of being found to have an inoperable cervical cancer.