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HealthyWomen Welcomes USPSTF Decision to Retain Recommended Co-Testing Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening

HealthyWomen Welcomes USPSTF Decision to Retain Recommended Co-Testing Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening

HealthyWomen welcomes the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) decision today to retain its guidelines recommending testing for HPV infection during a Pap test as an appropriate preventive measure for screening for cervical cancer.

Women's Health Policy

With nearly 12,000 women being diagnosed with cervical cancer each year this is an important win for women’s health – and particularly for women over age 30 who are at an increased risk of developing this disease. That is why regular preventive screening – including and access to co-testing – is so important, and women should know that cervical cancer is one of the easiest types of cancers to prevent and, if caught early, is one of the most curable cancers.

The effectiveness of co-testing is also high. It can identify 94.5 percent of all cervical cancers and pre-cancers, which is why evidence-based guidelines from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists the American Society for Colonoscopy and Cervical Pathology, the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the American Cancer Society support co-testing as the standard of care for cervical cancer screening.

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