New guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) say most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually to catch slow-growing cervical cancer. The change comes amid a separate debate over when regular mammograms to detect breast cancer should begin. The timing of the Pap guidelines is coincidence, said ACOG, which began reviewing its recommendations in late 2007 and published the update last Friday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. The guidelines also say:

Routine Paps should start at age 21. Previously, ACOG had urged a first Pap either within three years of first sexual intercourse or at age 21.

Women 30 and older should wait three years between Paps once they have had three consecutive clear tests. Other national guidelines have long recommended the three-year interval; ACOG had previously backed a two- to three-year wait.

Cervical cancer is caused by certain strains of the extremely common sexually transmitted virus called HPV, for human papilloma virus. There is a new HPV vaccine that should cut cervical cancer in the future. ACOG's guidelines say for now, vaccinated women should follow the same Pap guidelines as the unvaccinated. The updated guidelines reflect better understanding of HPV.

Source: The Associated Press

Breast cancer screening unchanged

United States health officials distanced themselves last Wednesday from controversial new breast-cancer screening guidelines that recommend against routine mammograms for healthy women in their 40s and said federal policy on screening mammograms had not changed.

In a move likely to reassure American women, US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement the US Preventive Services Task Force that issued the guidelines last Monday did not set federal policy and did not affect what services the government would pay for. Critics of the new guidelines said they would lead to more cancer deaths and expressed fear insurance companies would use them to justify denying coverage for mammograms to women in their 40s.

The proposed changes address healthy women with an average risk of breast cancer, not women who have a family history of breast cancer or some other special risk. The guidelines were swiftly rejected by cancer experts, and the American Cancer Society said it would not change its recommendations for routine mammograms starting at age 40.

Source: Reuters

This swab is used in a Pap smear, to gather a few cells from the cervix. It s used while the speculum is in place. The swab is smeared on the slide.