Pap smears have reduced the incidence and fatalities of cervical cancer in the developed world, but even so there were 11,000 cases and 3,900 deaths in the U.S. in 2008.
V bolj razvitih državah se za zaznavo nenormalnih celic, ki bi lahko napredovale v rak, uporablja presejalni test PAP (Papanicolaouov test).