Screening should be initiated at 21 years of age in asymptomatic, immunocompetent women. Studies have shown the largest number of false positive test results occurring in adolescents younger than 21 years and have the lowest incidence of cervical cancer. There is no protective effect in screening women younger than 21 years. There are few studies that address the age of cessation. Modelling studies have not shown increase in protective effect when screening women greater than 70 years who have had prior routine screening.
Sources:
Kulasingam SL, et al. Screening for Cervical Cancer: A Decision Analysis for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2011 May. Report No.: 11-05157-EF-1. PMID: 22553886.
Miller AB, et al. Report of a National Workshop on Screening for Cancer of the Cervix. CMAJ. 1991 Nov 15;145(10):1301-25. PMID: 1933712.
Moyer VA, et al. Screening for cervical cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Jun 19;156(12):880-91, W312. PMID: 22711081.
Murphy J, et al. Cervical Screening: A Quality Initiative of the Program in Evidence-Based Care (PEBC), Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) [Internet]. 2001 Oct 5 [cited 2017 May 29].
Sasieni P, et al. Effectiveness of cervical screening with age: population based case-control study of prospectively recorded data. BMJ. 2009 Jul 28;339:b2968. PMID: 19638651.
Related Resources:
Patient Pamphlet: Pap Tests: When you need them and when you don’t