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Revisiting the effect of the Pap test on cervical cancer
1Dept of Pathology, Louisiana State University, School of Medicine, New Orleans 70112, USA.
Objectives:
This report documents the effect of not having had a Papanicolaou (Pap) test on survival with uterine cervical squamous carcinoma.
Methods:
Data were derived from Charity Hospital of Louisiana at New Orleans Tumor Registry reports for 1984-1987 and 1996.
Results:
During the 5 study years, 101 of 213 women (47%) with invasive carcinoma had not undergone a previous Pap test. From 1984 to 1987, the observed 5-year survival rate for 171 patients with invasive carcinoma was 43%. The observed 5-year rate for 107 patients with carcinoma in situ from 1984 to 1986 was 99%.
Conclusions:
The goal of a yearly Pap test for all women can be approached by a number of different routes, with the use of all health facilities augmented with collection of specimens by trained nonphysician personnel.