Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

Introduction to Screening Guidelines

The American College of Physicians recommends that all women should begin cervical cancer screening at age 21 years, regardless of sexual activity history or HPV vaccination status 1, 2

For women aged 21-29 years, the American College of Physicians recommends screening with Pap test alone every 3 years 1
For women aged 30-65 years, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends co-testing (Pap test plus HPV DNA test) every 5 years as the preferred approach 5, 4
The American College of Physicians recommends that women can discontinue screening at age 65 if they meet specific criteria, including having three consecutive negative Pap tests or two consecutive negative co-tests within the last 10 years, and no history of high-grade precancerous lesions or cervical cancer 1, 4

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using HPV testing for triage of women aged 21 years and older with ASC-US cytology results, and for routine co-testing with Pap test in women aged 30 years and older 3, 7

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends that pregnant women should follow the same screening recommendations as non-pregnant women 5
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women who have received HPV vaccination should be screened using the same recommendations as unvaccinated women 3, 5