For the first time ever, there were no deaths from cervical cancer among young women ages 20-24 in England over a five-year period. This is great news and adds to evidence that widespread HPV vaccination saves lives.
Three organizations—ACS, ACOG, and HRSA—have each recently endorsed new guidelines for cervical cancer screening. All of them discuss screening with self collected samples.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) released new recommendations for cervical cancer screening that focus on HPV testing and approve the use of self-collected samples. The recommendations also clarify the age at which screening should start and stop.
The FDA just approved the Teal Wand, a self-collection device for HPV testing that does not require a speculum exam or even a trip to the doctor’s office. People can collect their own sample at home and send it to a lab for analysis.
The results of large-scale study of HPV suggest that one shot of the vaccine may be enough to protect young people from HPV and related issues like cervical cancer.
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is very common. Some types of HPV can cause genital warts and other types can cause cancer, including cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis or anus, as well as cancer in the back of the throat.
