Get ready to update your gynecological scorecards, because now we have yet another recommendation on what should be happening to your lady business every year. While more and more doctors are using tests for HPV, an influential federal advisory panel has announced it won’t endorse HPV screening and only recommends Pap smears every three years for most women.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force says women under 30 shouldn’t use HPV tests to check for cervical cancer because compared to Pap tests they’re more likely to produce false positives and may lead to “unnecessary diagnostic procedures, treatments, and the consequent harms may increase.” As for women older than 30, the panel didn’t conclude that HPV testing is harmful, but it said, “the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of HPV testing, alone or in combination with” Pap tests. The group still needs to see more studies on the subject, so essentially scientists shook up the Magic 8-Ball that resides between your legs and got “ask again later.”
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