Cervical Cancer Screening for Individuals at Average Risk
Recommendations
Cotesting or cytology‐alone testing are acceptable options for cervical cancer screening because access to an FDA‐approved primary HPV test may be limited in some settings. As the United States makes the transition to primary HPV testing, the use of both cotesting and cytology for cervical cancer screening will not be included in future guidelines.
When to Stop Cervical Cancer Screening
- Adequate negative prior screening is currently defined as 2 consecutive negative HPV tests, or 2 consecutive negative cotests, or 3 consecutive negative cytology tests within the past 10 years, with the most recent test occurring within the recommended interval for the test used. These criteria do not apply to individuals who are currently under surveillance for abnormal screening results.
- Individuals aged >65 years without conditions limiting life expectancy for whom sufficient documentation of prior screening is not available should be screened until cessation criteria are met.
- Cervical cancer screening may be discontinued in individuals of any age with limited life expectancy.
Recommendation Grading
Overview
Title
Cervical Cancer Screening for Individuals at Average Risk
Authoring Organization
American Cancer Society
Publication Month/Year
July 29, 2020
Last Updated Month/Year
August 30, 2024
Document Type
Guideline
External Publication Status
Published
Country of Publication
US
Inclusion Criteria
Female, Male, Adult, Older adult
Health Care Settings
Ambulatory, Hospital
Intended Users
Social worker, physician, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician assistant
Scope
Assessment and screening
Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)
D002583 - Uterine Cervical Neoplasms, D008403 - Mass Screening
Keywords
guideline, Cervical cancer screening, cervical neoplasms, cervix neoplasms, mass screening, prevention and control
Source Citation
Fontham ETH, Wolf AMD, Church TR, Etzioni R, Flowers CR, Herzig A, Guerra CE, Oeffinger KC, Shih YT, Walter LC, Kim JJ, Andrews KS, DeSantis CE, Fedewa SA, Manassaram-Baptiste D, Saslow D, Wender RC, Smith RA. Cervical cancer screening for individuals at average risk: 2020 guideline update from the American Cancer Society. CA Cancer J Clin. 2020 Sep;70(5):321-346. doi: 10.3322/caac.21628. Epub 2020 Jul 30. PMID: 32729638.