NEWS1

Via www.medicalnewstoday.com - The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) today released new cervical cancer prevention guidelines, which advocate for HPV (human papillomavirus) testing as part of screening in women age 30 and older, and for HPV vaccination for all girls age 11 and 12, along with catch-up vaccinations for other girls who qualify for vaccination. AMWA is the first medical organization to recommend that clinicians utilize these new technologies, as part of an integrated prevention strategy, and that insurance companies pay for them. The organization's move also underscores the growing role of cervical cancer detection and prevention strategies that target HPV, the virus shown to be the primary cause of cervical cancer.

The guidelines were announced at the North American Congress of Women in Medicine, held March 23-25 in Orlando, Fla. The event was co-hosted by AMWA in cooperation with the Medical Women's International Association (MWIA) and the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (FMWC).

"The landscape of cervical cancer prevention is changing," said Susan L. Ivey, MD, MHSA, president of the American Medical Women's Association. "The Pap test has helped to significantly reduce cervical cancer rates in our country in the last 60 years, and has been improved by liquid-based technologies. However, we now have additional tools, such as an HPV test and an HPV vaccine, to help detect and prevent cervical cancer. We need to make sure that all women can benefit from these new tools. We encourage clinicians to offer these new technologies, women to ask for them and insurers to cover them."

Studies have shown the traditional Pap test to be between about 50 to 70 percent effective at detecting pre-cancerous cervical lesions. Liquid-based Pap technologies and computer enhanced screening can improve that rate. However, recent studies show that combining an HPV test with a Pap test in women age 30 and older can increase screening accuracy to almost 100 percent. AMWA supports the use of HPV testing in conjunction with a Pap test as part of routine screening for women in this age group, in accordance with recent guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In addition, AMWA supports the use of HPV testing as a follow-up to an inconclusive Pap result, known as ASC-US (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance) for women under age 30.

Consultation

In June 2006, the FDA approved an HPV vaccine for girls and women age 9 through 26. The vaccine was shown in clinical studies to be 100 percent effective at preventing disease caused by the two types of HPV that account for 70 percent of all cervical cancers. The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) subsequently recommended that 11- and 12-year- old girls be given the vaccine routinely, and that girls in the other age groups receive the vaccination at the discretion of their healthcare provider. AMWA supports the universal protection of girls and young women from cervical cancer with vaccines shown to be safe and effective for its prevention in the recommended age groups.

"The recently approved HPV vaccine offers exciting potential to help reduce cervical cancer rates in the United States and worldwide," said Jean Fourcroy, MD, author of the new AMWA guidelines. "At the same time, cervical cancer screening will continue to be necessary for all women."