Newer isn't always better, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
In an opinion paper released last month, ACOG officials advised that automated Papanicolaou test rescreening devices are not considered the standard of care in cervical cancer screening. The ACOG opinion stated that even though new devices such as ThinPrep, AutoPap, and PAPNET improve on the sensitivity of the Pap test, their routine use is not recommended based on cost and a lack of data demonstrating that they reduce the incidence of or improve the survival rate from invasive cervical cancer.
Even though automated rescreening devices can reduce the number of false-negative Pap tests, ACOG officials said most of those test results are classified as low-grade lesions or atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance that, for the most part, are not cancerous.
"Women need to know that it's usually the failure to get a Pap . . . [Full Text of this Article]
