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What's the best way to screen women for cervical cancer?

Renee Mestad, MD (photo by Jim Howe)

Renee Mestad, MD (photo by Jim Howe)

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association called into question the sensitivity of the Pap smear, a test that's been used for decades to screen for cervical cancer in women. Instead of relying on a pathologist to view abnormal cells in the Pap smear, a newer test looks for the presence of HPV, the human papillomavirus, which is responsible for the majority of cases of cervical cancer. Renee Mestad, MD, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Upstate, tells about the study and explains why most women don't need to be screened every year.

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