Cervical cancer screening. Who needs a Pap test? How often?

Cancer of the cervix and its preinvasive forms are ideally suited to control by means of cytologic screening programs. Ample evidence shows that widespread use of such programs markedly reduces both the incidence and mortality of clinically invasive carcinoma of the cervix. Thus, physicians should encourage female patients to participate in a cervical cytologic screening program. In addition, family practitioners and internists, when seeing female patients for nongynecologic problems, should not miss the opportunity to obtain a Pap smear whenever appropriate.