In the past, healthcare providers have relied on the Pap test to determine who is at risk for cervical cancer by looking for abnormal cells caused by HPV and then treating the cells before they turn into cancer. Thanks to the Pap test, the number of women who develop cervical cancer has decreased.
But the Pap test is not foolproof. It does not look directly for HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. Instead, it looks for abnormal cells caused by the virus. That means when the Pap test is done by itself, abnormal cells may be missed or may not be seen early enough to prevent cervical cancer. Therefore the Pap test should be considered a screening test.
To accurately determine if your patients have HPV infection, they can now have an HPV test along with their Pap test. This test is considered the gold standard in cervical cancer testing as it uses advanced molecular technology to detect the genetic code of all fourteen high-risk (oncogenic) HPV types.
Find out more by accessing our
HPV Test brochure
