A papillomavirus cell. Photo: Ed Uthman (via Flickr)
Young women vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) are being urged by health experts not to forgo regular Pap tests.
A recent study published in the Medical Journal of Australia showed that Pap test participation rates among vaccinated women were up to 13 per cent lower than in unvaccinated women.
Of vaccinated women aged 20–24, only 37.6 per cent had gone through a cervical screening in 2010-11, compared to 47.7 per cent of their unvaccinated counterparts.
The study suggests some young women may be under the false impression that the HPV vaccination protects them against all strains of cervical cancer but, in fact, it only protects against two of the 15 specific types of high-risk HPV strains.
“The Pap test is the best way to getting these strains early where they’re very much treatable before they develop into cervical cancer,” said Hiranthi Perera, Pap screen manager at Cancer Council Victoria.
“The current recommendation in Australia is that all women between the ages of 18 and 70 who have ever been sexually active have a Pap test every two years,” she said.
Pap tests screen for any cell abnormalities and changes in the cervix that if left untreated can lead to cervical cancer.
Participation rates overall in Victoria currently sit at 60 per cent, meaning a third of all Victorian women are not undertaking the test.
One of the deterrents to getting a Pap test is not being able to see a female GP but Ms Perera encourages women to seek out one of Victoria’s 500 trained female nurses if the option for a female GP is not available.
“For most women it can be quite embarrassing,” she says.
“But the key thing to know is that it’s literally a couple of minutes and it could save your life.”
