Women with HIV need cervical cancer check every 3 years

Tiffany G. Harris, Ph.D., from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y., and colleagues in a study to see if a single, initial human papillomavirus (HPV) test result could be used to decide how often an HIV-seropositive woman with normal cervical cytology should be screened for cervical cancer, looked at the incidence of abnormal cervical lesions among HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women enrolled in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).

The women had normal cervical cytology at the beginning of the study.Women with HIV who have normal cervical cancer screening results and negative tests for human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that is associated with cervical cancer, may be able to have Papanicolaou (Pap) smears every three years, the same interval as HIV-negative women, according to the study in the March 23/30 issue of JAMA.

Background information in the article tells that, cervical cancer screening in the US has been recently updated and an interval of 3 years between screenings is advised in healthy women over 30 who have normal cytology results and test negative for HPV. The recommended interval is 6 to 12 months for women with normal cytology and detectable oncogenic HPV. Women who are HIV-positive are recommended to have two Pap smears six-months apart after their initial HIV diagnosis, and if both are normal, should undergo an annual screening. HPV test results are not considered.

In the two year study the researchers found that there were no large or significant absolute differences between the two groups of women.

They believe the psychosocial costs of a positive HPV test in HIV-seropositive women need to be considered and that the use of HPV testing in HIV-seropositive women warrants evaluation in a formal clinical trial.