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HPV Test More Effective Than Pap Smear in Cancer Screening, Study Suggests

By July 6, 2018No Comments

Cervical cancer is among the easiest gynecologic cancers to prevent, and two screening tests can help detect the disease early: the routine Pap smear and testing for human papillomavirus, or HPV.

The cytology-based Pap smear involves looking for cancer or precancer cells by testing cells taken from the lower end of a woman’s uterus, called the cervix. Diagnosing diseases by looking at single cells and small clusters of cells is called cytology or cytopathology.
On the other hand, a woman’s cervix also can be tested for the presence of certain high-risk types of HPV that can cause cancers, including cervical cancer.