Screening for cervical carcinoma

At present, cytological examination of cervical smears is the method used to screen the female population for cervical abnormalities. This employs the Papanicolaou staining technique and cell morphology to detect abnormal cells from the susceptible transformation zone of the cervix. However, with the recent discovery of a possible link between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer, a test to determine the presence of HPV infection may be appropriate. Tests are still at a developmental stage and at present used only for research purposes. Various DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridisation techniques are employed in experimental screening studies, and these involve probing cells or DNA extracted from cells for HPV DNA using radio-labelled probes.