New HPV Test Replacing Pap Smear to Detect Cervical Cancer in Women

A Food and Drug Administration committee unanimously approved the cobas viral DNA test to replace the Pap smear for human papilloma virus (HPV) screening in women.

After decades of using the Pap smear to detect cervical cancer in women, the new cobas viral DNA test will soon be the primary method of doing so. It was manufactured by Roche Molecular Systems, a company that develops, manufactures, and supplies a wide array of innovative medical diagnostic products, services, tests, platforms, and technologies.

The advantage of the cobas viral DNA test is that it screens for the presence of HPV 16 and 18, which are the two strains linked to the majority of cervical cancer cases. The latest approval will have all women over the age of 25 undergo this new test as their primary form of screening, and Pap testing will slowly be weeded out.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. and nearly every sexually active person will acquire the virus at some point in their lives. There are over 40 types of the virus that affect both male and female genitals and is passed on through sexual intercourse, even if no signs or symptoms are present.

The current FDA guidelines recommend that women aged 21-30 years receive Pap testing every three years and women aged 30-65 years received both the cobas viral DNA test as well as the Pap test every three years. But with greater effectiveness and identification with the use of the cobas viral DNA test, it will now be the primary recommendation for all women, and Pap tests will be administered if strains other than HPV 16 or 18 are detected.

"Now we have the opportunity to identify women earlier, and to me that's compelling," said FDA panel member Dr. Kimberly Hanson, of the University of Utah and ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City, in this Fox News article. It is also being discussed to recommend testing for HPV strains 16 and 18 by age 25 instead of 30 in order to detect any possible abnormalities earlier.

To read more about HPV and the new recommended testing methods, visit this Fox News article.