Cervical Cancer Rates Rising in Seniors

Recent changes in pap smear frequency suggest that pap smears may no longer be necessary for women 65 years of age or older. There are a few big IF's:

Those with three consecutive negative Pap tests in the last 10 years, or two consecutive negative Pap tests combined with negative HPV tests in the last 10 years, with the most recent test performed within the past 5 years.

Now comes this news.

Previous studies determined that the rate of cervical cancer was approximately 12 cases per 100,000 women in the U.S. The incidence of the disease peaks in women between 40 to 44 years, then tapers off. However, such estimates did not take into account women who had hysterectomies, and are therefore no longer at risk for developing cervical cancer. Once these women were factored out, the incidence of this type of cancer increased to 18.6 cases per 100,000 women. The rate steadily increased as women age, particularly in women between 65 and 69 years of age.

African-American women had a higher incidence of cervical cancer at nearly all ages compared to caucasian women, with the discrepancy becoming more pronounced at older ages.

The study’s lead author Anne F. Rositch, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., an assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a researcher at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, believes these findings are important when reevaluating the screening guidelines for cervical cancer in older women in the U.S. Appropriate interventions need to be initiated to lower the burden of cervical cancer in these women.

Will the abandonment of the annual pap snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the fight against the cancer that killed Evita Peron? While we do not want to spend precious healthcare dollars on needless testing, we do not want to put women's lives at risk in the process. I would urge any woman to have these conversations with her doctor before choosing either to continue or to forgo pap smears. Choose wisely indeed.

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