Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Cervical Cancer Screening
Cervical cancer is cancer that starts in the cells of the cervix. The cervix is part of the female reproductive system. It is the lower, narrow end of the uterus (womb), which opens into the vagina (birth canal). Cervical cancer screening is an important part of routine health care for people who have a cervix.
Cervical cancer screening tests look for cancer before you have any symptoms. Cervical cancer usually develops slowly. Before cervical cells become cancer, they start to look abnormal. These cells are called "precancers". If they aren't destroyed or removed, they may become cancer cells that grow out of control and spread to other parts of your body.
Screening can help find abnormal cells so you can get treatment to prevent cervical cancer. These tests can also help to find cervical cancer early when it's usually easier to treat.
Cervical cancer screening is usually part of a woman's health checkup during a pelvic exam. These tests use a sample of cervical cells that your health care provider collects with a swab:
- A Pap test (also called a Pap smear or cervical cytology) checks for abnormal cells so they can be treated before they become cancer.
- An HPV (human papillomavirus) test checks for certain HPV infections that can cause cancer. HPV is a group of viruses that spread through sexual contact. The types that cause cancer are called "high-risk HPV."
- The HPV/Pap cotest uses an HPV and Pap test together to check for both high-risk HPV and cervical cell changes.
If your screening tests are abnormal, your provider may do more tests, such as a biopsy. How often you should be screened for cervical cancer and which tests you should get will depend on your age and health history.
Cervical cancer screening saves lives. Screening can detect cervical changes early, lowering your chance of dying from cervical cancer. But, cervical cancer screening has potential harms.
The possible harms of cervical cancer screening include:
The results can sometimes be wrong.
- Getting a false-positive result means that your test results appear abnormal, but there are no precancerous or cancerous cells. A false-positive may lead to: Worry while you have more tests to look for signs of cancer.
- Follow-up tests or treatment that you may not have needed.
- You may delay seeking treatment even if you have symptoms.
Talk with your provider about how often you should be screened for cervical cancer and which tests you should get. This will depend on your age and health history. If you have a cervix, it's recommended that you have your first Pap smear at age 21 and begin screening with an HPV test at age 25. You may need screening more often if you:
- Had an abnormal HPV test, Pap smear, or cervical biopsy in the recent past.
- Have had a diagnosis of cervical cancer.
- Have a weakened immune system.
- Were exposed to a drug called DES (Diethylstilbestrol) before you were born. Between the years 1940-1971, DES was sometimes prescribed to prevent miscarriages.
If you are over age 65 and have had regular Pap smear screenings with normal results, your provider may tell you that you no longer need them. If you have HIV, you may need to continue screenings after age 65.
You don't need cervical cancer screening if you had a total hysterectomy (surgery to remove your uterus and cervix) because of a condition that was not cancer. But if your hysterectomy was related to cervical cancer or precancer, ask your provider whether you need screening.
It sits within Cancers, Women and Female Reproductive System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Cervical Cancer Screening
591 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Targeted Therapy Directed by Genetic Testing in Treating Patients With Advanced Refractory Solid Tumors, Lymphomas, or Multiple Myeloma (The MATCH Screening Trial)National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Feasibility of HPV Self-Collection Kits for Cervical Cancer ScreeningWashington University School of Medicine
- Evaluation of the Q-Pad hrHPV Test System for Identifying PrecancerQurasense
- Novel Strategy for Early Detection of Esophageal Squamous Cell CarcinomaUniversity of California, San Francisco
- Evaluation of Cell Changes in Blood and Tissue in Cancers of the Lung, Esophagus and Lung LiningNational Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Strategies to Close the Gap From Cervical Cancer Diagnosis to Treatment in BotswanaAbramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine
Research already completed
- Social Media-Based Education on Cancer Screening Awareness in Women: A Randomized Controlled TrialEmine Ergin
- Effect of Health Belief Model-Based Education on Cervical Cancer Knowledge and HPV Vaccine Attitudes in WomenMuhammet Faruk Yigit
- Vaginal Self-sampling for Detecting High-risk Human Papillomavirus Cervical Infection in Patients With Immune-mediated Inflammatory DiseasesAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Cervical Cancer ScreeningNational Cancer Institute
- Get Screened for Cervical CancerOffice of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- HPV and Pap Test Results: Next Steps after an Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening TestNational Cancer Institute
- Screening for Cervical CancerCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Related Issues
- I Had a Hysterectomy. Do I Still Need to See My Ob-Gyn? Do I Still Need Pap Tests?American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Pap Smear: Do I Need One If I'm a Virgin?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Statistics and Research
- Pap Tests: FastStatsNational Center for Health Statistics
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Human Papillomavirus DNA TestsNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Papanicolaou TestNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Vaginal SmearsNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Papanicolaou Test, Human Papillomavirus DNA Tests, Vaginal Smears. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Cervical Cancer Screening, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.