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