Pap Smear: Test, Age, Duration, Results & Frequency (2024)

What is a Pap smear test?

A Pap smear (also called a Pap test) screens for cervical cancer. The test checks for abnormal cells on your cervix that are cancerous or have the potential to become cancerous and may also detect certain infections and inflammation. During a Pap smear, your healthcare provider takes cells from your cervix to examine under a microscope. The test is named for an American physician, Dr. George Papanicolaou, who developed the Pap smear.

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Anyone with a cervix between the ages of 21 and 30 should get a Pap smear at least once every three years. Between the ages of 30 and 65, you should have one every five years. Healthcare providers consider a Pap smear to be the gold standard for preventing cervical cancer because it detects cervical cell changes before they can turn into cancer. Detecting precancerous or cancerous cells as early as possible typically increases your chances of beating the disease.

Going for your Pap test may feel like a nuisance, and you may dread going when the time comes. It’s easy to push the test off or think you don’t need to get one because your last one was fine, but it’s imperative for your reproductive health and putting it off could mean dangerous cell changes go unnoticed. Talk to your healthcare provider if you’re unsure when you’re due for your next Pap smear.

What does a Pap smear test for?

The test checks for:

  • Cervical cancer.
  • Potentially precancerous cells in the cervix (dysplasia).
  • Human papillomavirus(HPV), a commonsexually transmitted infection(STI) that increases the risk of cervical cancer.

A Pap smear can’t detect STIs like gonorrhea and chlamydia, but it may pick up things like trichomonas, bacterial overgrowth or yeast infections. Your provider performs gonorrhea and chlamydia tests separately from a Pap test.

What’s the difference between a pelvic exam and a Pap test?

During a pelvic exam, your healthcare provider examines and feels your uterus,ovariesand other parts of your reproductive system. A pelvic exam doesn’t always include a Pap smear, but a Pap smear almost always involves a pelvic exam.

What’s the difference between a Pap smear and an HPV test?

HPV tests check for certain types of HPV that increase your cervical cancer risk. There are many different types of HPV. Not all cause cancer.

Providers can do HPV tests and Pap tests at the same time, using the same steps (a gentle scrape of your cervix for cell samples). When sending these samples to a lab, your provider specifies whether the lab specialist (pathologist) should check for precancerous or cancerous cells (Pap smear), HPV or both (a co-test). The time between tests is slightly different depending on whether you get just a Pap test or a co-test.

How often do you need a Pap smear?

How often you’ll have the test depends on many factors, including your age, health history and results from your last Pap or HPV test. Most people don’t need Pap smears after age 65.

Generally, Pap smears occur:

AgePap frequency
Younger than 21.Not necessary. (Your risk for cervical cancer is very low before 21.)
21 to 29 years old.Every three years.
30 to 65 years old.Every three years with a Pap test alone or every five years with a Pap/HPV co-test.
Older than 65.Not necessary if you’ve never had abnormal cervical cells or cervical cancer, and you’ve had three normal Pap test results in a row within the previous ten years.
Age
Younger than 21.
Pap frequency
Not necessary. (Your risk for cervical cancer is very low before 21.)
21 to 29 years old.
Pap frequency
Every three years.
30 to 65 years old.
Pap frequency
Every three years with a Pap test alone or every five years with a Pap/HPV co-test.
Older than 65.
Pap frequency
Not necessary if you’ve never had abnormal cervical cells or cervical cancer, and you’ve had three normal Pap test results in a row within the previous ten years.

Certain factors may cause you to have more frequent screenings or screening past age 65. Some of these are:

  • Havinghuman immunodeficiency virus(HIV) or being immunocompromised from another condition or treatment like chemotherapy.
  • Exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) during fetal development (your birth parent took the medication). Healthcare providers prescribed it to pregnant people up until about 1971.
  • Having a history of cervical cancer.
  • Having a history of irregular Pap smears.

Do I need a Pap smear if I’ve had a hysterectomy?

It depends on what kind of hysterectomy you had and if you had it due to cancer or another condition:

  • If you’ve kept all or part of your cervix, you should still have Pap smears.
  • If you no longer have a cervix, you may not need a Pap smear again. But this depends on why you had a hysterectomy.

People who had a hysterectomy due to ovarian, uterine or cervical cancer may still need Pap tests to check their vaginal tissue for signs of cancer. If you had a hysterectomy for a condition like uterine fibroids, your provider may decide your risk for cancer is low and you no longer need Pap smears.

Pap Smear: Test, Age, Duration, Results & Frequency (2024)
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