CDC Says Annual Pap Smears May Do More Harm Than Good

August 8, 2004

Women who get annual pap smears may receive no benefit over women who are

tested less frequently and it may in fact be causing harm since frequently

tested women may also be at increased risk of unnecessary treatment and

anxiety, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) are warning.

Researchers analyzed 1991-1998 data from a national study of nearly 130,000

women who had a first Pap test reported as normal, and at least one

subsequent Pap test performed within the following 9 to 36 months.

" Many times, especially for low-grade abnormalities, there's a lot of false

positives (results which appear positive, but are in fact negative), and

women may be biopsied and receive other treatment because of the Pap test

result, " Dr. Mona Saraiya from the CDC told Reuters Health. " These symptoms

might have gone away if we'd left (the women) alone, " she added. " " There

needs to be more research to show what actual harmful morbidity is

associated with an abnormal Pap. "

" Women who were screened annually rather than less frequently might have

worse health outcomes if low-grade results of undetermined clinical

importance lead to further testing and unnecessary patient morbidity and

anxiety, " the researchers conclude.

Current guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and

Gynecologists suggest that most women should have annual Pap tests. The

American Cancer Society guidelines suggest that screening less frequently

than every year might be adequate for women who have had three negative

annual tests.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2000;49:1001-1003

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Dr. Mercola's Comment: Well folks, here you have it, straight from the

weekly report of the CDC. The MMWR tells us that the annual pap smear is

unnecessary.

If cervical cancer is detected there are other options that can be tried

under the care of a competent physician. One involves high doses of oral

folic acid (10-20 mg daily) and also vitamin A injected into the cervix. It

is likely that higher doses of oral folic acid will also help prevent

cervical cancer. Of course, having one sexual partner is also a great idea,

since cervical cancer appears to be a partially dependent upon a sexually

transmitted virus (Human Papilloma Virus - HPV).

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