For decades, the Pap smear has been the primary screening tool for cervical cancer in Canada, and anyone with a cervix who is over the age of 21 or who has been sexually active is advised to get one every three years.
This regular and accurate screening is important because, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, an estimated 1,450 Canadian women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2022, and nearly 400 will die from it. Cervical cancer is also the fourth-most frequent cancer among Canadian women between 15 and 44 years of age.
To help boost early and accurate detection of the disease, Quebec has announced it will start using the human papillomavirus (HPV) test as its first step to screen for cervical cancer, instead of the Pap smear. HPV is the main risk factor for developing the disease, and the province will begin systematically offering HPV testing for cervical cancer screening to all women aged 25 to 65, every five years. How do we currently screen for cervical cancer in Canada"
During a Pap smear, cells are collected from the cervix and then examined under a microscope by a technician, who looks for the presence of cancer cells or other cellular abnormalities that could signal a malignancy. Those results are shared with the patient?s doctor, who determines the next course of action.
But, according to Eduardo Franco, ??director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal, Pap smears are only able to detect cancer and precancerou...