Primary Cervical Cancer Screening Using HPV Testing

Abstract

With the discovery and strong supporting evidence of the HPV being the causative agent behind the vast majority of invasive cervical cancers, our screening methodologies need to change. There has been a paradigm shift in the method for which screening is done for people with cervixes, which has been adopted by many other countries internationally. Primary HPV testing has been proven to be more sensitive and accurate than cytology alone with a high negative predictive value and for this reason, Canada is preparing to update its recommendations for screening going forward.