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Introduction
Screening methods used to find cervical changes that may lead to cervical cancer include the Pap test and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. Such screening tests may find cancers early, when they are most treatable. Women who have never been screened or who have not been screened in the past 5 years face a greater risk of developing invasive cervical cancer.
Although it is widely accepted that Pap screening can reduce cervical cancer mortality, and although the percentage of women aged 18 years and older who reported they had a Pap test within the past 3 years is relatively high, certain groups of women in the United States are less likely than others to be screened. A number of factors have been associated with lower rates of cervical cancer screening, including low income, less education, a lack of health insurance, older age, smoking status (smoker), and obesity. Studies have also shown that women who have had a medical visit in the last year are more likely to have received a cervical cancer screening, which suggests that having a usual source of care or a recent clinical encounter may be a necessary condition for women to receiving screening.
Understanding the reasons why women do or do not maintain regular cervical cancer screening is important, given that cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable cancers, particularly when detected and treated early.
Measure
The percentage of women aged 18 years and older, accounting for race/ethnicity, income, and education level, who reported they had a Pap test within the past 3 years.
Healthy People 2020 Target
- Increase to 93 percent the proportion of women aged 21 to 65 years who received a cervical cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for cervical cancer in women aged 21 to 65 years with a Pap test every 3 years or, for women aged 30 to 65 years who want to lengthen the screening interval, screening with a combination of Pap testing and HPV testing every 5 years.
Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 1987–2015.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of women | Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
78.7 | (77.8 - 79.7) |
Non-Hispanic White
|
79.7 | (78.4 - 81.0) | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
82.8 | (80.5 - 85.0) | |
Hispanic
|
75.9 | (73.6 - 78.1) | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of women | Confidence Interval | ||
|
<200% of federal poverty level
|
71.5 | (69.5 - 73.4) |
>=200% of federal poverty level
|
81.9 | (80.8 - 83.1) | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2015) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of women | Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
67.7 | (64.4 - 71.0) |
High School
|
72.3 | (69.7 - 74.8) | |
Greater than High School
|
82.4 | (81.3 - 83.5) | |
Additional Information on Cervical Cancer Screening
For the public
- Cervical Cancer: Prevention and Early Detection. American Cancer Society.
- Medicare Coverage for Cancer Prevention and Early Detection. American Cancer Society.
- Gynecological Cancers – What Should I Know About Screening? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Cervical Cancer: Prevention, Genetics, Causes. National Cancer Institute.
- Pap and HPV Testing. National Cancer Institute.
- Screening and Testing to Detect Cancer: Cervical Cancer. National Cancer Institute.
- Screening for Cervical Cancer. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
For health professionals
- The Guide to Community Preventive Services – Cancer Prevention and Control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Cervical Cancer Prevention (PDQ®). National Cancer Institute.
- Guideline Syntheses – Screening for Cervical Cancer in Women at Average Risk. U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the National Guideline Clearinghouse.
- Screening for cervical cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. 1996 (Revised 2012 Jun 19) . U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the National Guideline Clearinghouse.
Scientific reports
- ACOG Practice Bulletin Number 131: Screening for cervical cancer. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2012;120(5):1222–38.
- Cancer screening practices among physicians in the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program. Benard VB, Saraiya MS, Soman A, et al. J Women’s Health 2011;20(10):1479–84.
- Applying a gender lens on human papillomavirus infection: cervical cancer screening, HPV DNA testing, and HPV vaccination. Brankovic I, Verdonk P, and Klinge I. Int J Equity Health 2013;12:14.
- Challenges in meeting healthy people 2020 objectives for cancer-related preventive services, National Health Interview Survey, 2008 and 2010. Brown ML, Klabunde CN, Cronin KA, White MC, et al. Prev Chronic Dis 2014 Feb 27;11:E29.
- Cervical cancer screening: How our approach may change. Hofmeister S. J Fam Pract. 2016 Aug;65(8):551-3. Review.
- 2012 updated consensus guidelines for the management of abnormal cervical cancer screening tests and cancer precursors. Massad LS, Einstein MH, Huh WK, et al. Obstet Gynelcol 2013;121(4):829–46.
- Adherence to cervical cancer screening guidelines for U.S. women aged 25–64: Data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Nelson W, Moser RP, Gaffey A, and Waldron W. J Women’s Health 2009; 18(11):1759–1768.
- Papanicolaou testing among women in the southern United States. Peterson NB, Murff HJ, Cui Y, et al. J Women’s Health 2008;17(6):939–946.
- Screening for cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Peirson L, Fitzpatrick-Lewis D, Ciliska D, et al. Syst Rev 2013;2:35.
- Cervical cancer screening among young adult women in the United States. Roland KB, Benard VB, Soman A, Breen N, Kepka D, Saraiya M. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Apr;22(4):580-8. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-12-1266. Epub 2013 Jan 25
- American Cancer Society, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and American Society for Clinical Pathology screening guidelines for the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer. Saslow D, Solomon D, Lawson HW, et al. Am J Clin Pathol 2012;137(4):516–42.
- Cancer screening in the United States, 2013: a review of current American Cancer Society guidelines, current issues in cancer screening, and new guidance on cervical cancer screening and lung cancer screening. Smith RA, Brooks D, Cokkinides V, et al. CA Cancer J Clin 2013;63(2):88–105.
- Human papillomavirus vaccination coverage among adolescents, 2007-2013, and postlicensure vaccine safety monitoring, 2006-2014--United States. Stokley S, Jeyarajah J, Yankey D, Cano M, Gee J, Roark J, Curtis RC, Markowitz L; Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014 Jul 25;63(29):620-4.
Statistics
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: Prevalence Data & Data Analysis Tools. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.
- Healthy People 2020, 2020 Topics & Objectives – Cancer.
- Health Information National Trends Survey. National Cancer Institute.
- Measure Summary – Cervical cancer screening: percentage of women 21 to 64 years of age who had cervical cytology performed every 3 years. U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.