American Cancer Society recommends self-swab HPV test for cervical cancer screening

Statele Unite

Cervical cancer screening can now include “self-swab” HPV tests, according to updated guidelines published Thursday by the American Cancer Society. The change, experts hope, will encourage more women to undergo regular screening for the cancer by giving them an alternative to a speculum exam. Testing for HPV, or human papillomavirus, has supplanted the Pap test as the preferred method for cervical cancer screening. Pap tests (also called cytology) involve collecting cells from a patient’s