Cervical Screening Test

Cervical Screening Test

From the first day of adolescence, women need various screening tests for the health of their genital organs. The first goal of these screenings is to prevent cancer or to detect it early. Smear Test, also known as Cervical Screening Test, is one of them.

This test, which is used for the screening of cervical cancer, is considered to be the 'most valuable screening test' that women can have because of its ease of use, accuracy of its results, and the opportunity to reach treatment without progress if there is a disease detected thanks to these results. Since the occurrence of cervical cancer is 99.7 percent associated with HPV, the human wart virus, this screening is of great importance. Since the period from the transmission of the HPV virus to the emergence of cancer can take up to 10-15 years, the test should be done regularly in this interval. Thanks to the Cervical Screening Test (Pap Smear Test), the rate of cervical cancer in women has been decreasing rapidly over the years.

What is Cervical Screening Test (Pap Smear Test)?

Cervical Screening Test Pap Smear Test, as it is known in medicine, is a test named by Greek Doctor George Papnicolaou and used in screening for cervical cancers. It plays an active role in screening for cancer or pre-cancerous changes in the cervix. Precancerous cells are on the surface of the cervix. With this screening test, it is possible to get it here and examine it. With the Pap Smear Test, successful results have been recorded in diagnosing cervical cancers and decreasing deaths from the disease.

Cervical Screening Test (Pap Smear Test) Why is it done?

The purpose of performing the Cervical Screening Test is to early notice some findings that are not cancer in the cervix (cervix), but which have the risk of turning into cancer after many years if they are not noticed. Thus, these early findings can be treated and eliminated before they turn into cancer. In other words, the main purpose of performing this test is not to detect people with cervical cancer, but to determine the findings years before the cancer started.

These findings are not noticed in women who do not have a Pap Smear Test and may turn into cancer after many years. Specialist doctors usually recommend performing a cervical screening test for women aged 21 to 65 every three years. For women aged 30 and over, the cervical screening test can be done every five years when the procedure is combined with the HPV test, or they may consider HPV testing instead of a smear test.

What Should Be Done Before Testing?

Tampons, vaginal creams or medicines should not be used and sexual intercourse should not be initiated within 24 hours before the test. At the same time, the vagina should not be washed. The reason for this is that the findings disappear and the test does not give correct results. If there is a genital infection or discharge, a smear should be taken after treatment.

How to Perform Cervical Screening Test (Pap Smear Test)?

Cervical Screening Test is a very simple, short and painless procedure. Since it is an application that does not damage the tissue, it does not feel pain. The test application time is as short as 15-20 seconds and can be done during a routine gynecological examination. In the examination, after the speculum is inserted into the vagina, the cervix is displayed.

The lesions that can be seen with the naked eye are evaluated and the fluid sample is taken from the cervix with a swab with a soft brush or spatula. This sample is placed in a special thin glass called lam and placed in an alcohol-filled container to make the findings on the glass surface and a freezing spray is sprayed on it. After this process called fixation is done, the sample is sent to the pathology department and under examination. Subsequent results take 2 - 8 days to appear.

Tools and tests used for cervical screening include:

PAP Smear Test
The PAP test is usually the first step in determining cervical health and is usually done as part of routine screening. Most women are recommended to have a PAP test starting at age 21. Depending on your age and risk, your doctor may also recommend an additional test for HPV infection. The cervical screening test plays an important role in determining the risk of uterine cancer.

Pelvic Exam

A doctor will manually examine the vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries for lumps that can be discovered in more detail with imaging technology.

Colposcopy

A doctor uses a special microscope called a colposcope to examine the cervix. This microscope is designed to provide a magnified view of areas and allows your doctor to see any abnormal tissue. If abnormal tissue is detected, a tissue biopsy is performed.

Biopsies

There are two types of biopsies used to diagnose cervical cancer. These:

Cone biopsy: When the PAP test and colposcopy results show cervical carcinoma, your doctor may perform a cone biopsy to confirm the symptom. With the help of a scalpel, the doctor removes a piece of tissue from the cervix. The tissue is then sent to a pathologist for examination.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy: This test involves examining sentinel lymph nodes where cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary tumor. It can help determine if the cancer has spread beyond it.