• Don't do screening Pap smears annually in women with previously normal results.
• Don't do Pap smears in women who have had a hysterectomy for non-malignant disease. The potential harm from screening women younger than 21 years of age outweighs the benefits and there is little evidence to suggest the necessity of conducting this test annually when previous test results were normal. Women who have had a full hysterectomy for benign disorders no longer require this screening. Screening should stop at age 70 if three previous test results were normal.

Conditions: Cervical Cancer, Cervical Dysplasia, Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN)

Diagnostic Tests: PAP Smear (PAP Test), Cervical Smear, Cervical Test, Cervical Screening

Sources

• Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Cervical cancer screening guidelines: Environmental scan. 2013 Sep [2014 Feb 15]. (PDF)
• Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, Pollock S, Dunfield L, Shane A, Kerner J, Bryant H, et al. Recommendations on screening for cervical cancer. CMAJ. 2013 Jan 8;185(1):35-45. (PubMed)
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Cervical screening. 2010 [cited 2014 Feb 15]. (PubMed)