The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved three new automated systems that show promise of substantially improving the accuracy of Pap tests. Unlike many cancers that cause pain, noticeable lumps, or other early symptoms, cervical cancer has no telltale symptoms until it is so advanced that it is usually unresponsive to treatment. Symptoms may even be absent at that point, although they often include abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as following intercourse or douching, between menstrual periods, or after menopause. Only in its late stages does cervical cancer cause pain in the lower abdominal or back regions. But because the cervix, or neck of the uterus, can be easily accessed through the vagina, doctors can test for cervical cancer as well as for precancerous changes in the cervix.
Most cervical cancers grow slowly over several years and often are preceded by abnormal cells.
Cervical cancer can often be prevented by the removal of these abnormal cells. To detect abnormal or cancerous cervical cells, George Papanicolaou, M.D., Ph.D., of Cornell University developed in the 1940s what is known today as the Pap test. In this test, a sample of cells is taken from in and around the cervix with a wooden scraper, cotton swab, or small cervical brush. The specimen is smeared on a glass slide, preserved with alcohol, and then sent to a laboratory. There cytotechnologists, specially trained in identifying abnormal cells, scrutinize the cervical cells under the microscope for any abnormal features associated with cancerous or precancerous cervical cells.