HPV Test Better Than Pap Test

Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing was more sensitive than traditional Pap smears at detecting precancerous lesions in the cervix.

Previous studies have shown that searching for a precancerous cervical lesion called cervical intraepithelial neoplasma using an HPV test is more sensitive but has more false-positives than conventional Pap smears, where doctors look for abnormal cells on a slide. Liquid-based cytology is a newer Pap technology where the doctors first immerse the Pap sample in a solution before looking at the cells. A new study comparing the ability of these tests to discover precancerous cervical lesions was reported in the June 7, 2006, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Guglielmo Ronco, M.D., Ph.D., of the Centro per la Prevenzione Oncologica Piemonte (CPO, Turin, Italy), and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial that screened over 33,000 women for cervical cancer. Half of the women were tested with Pap smears and the other half with HPV tests and liquid-based cytology. Women who had a positive result with any test were further examined by a technique called colposcopy, where a magnifying instrument is inserted to obtain a detailed view of the cervix.

The results showed that HPV testing alone was more sensitive than Pap smears among women 35-60 years old. Adding liquid-based cytology improved sensitivity only marginally but increased false-positives.



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