Cervical cancer screening and GPs in Italy

Abstract

All over the world the standard method for cervical cancer screening is Papanicolaou smear (pap test), introduced more than 50 years ago; routine use of Pap smears, whose false negative late is 20%, has been associated with a dramatic reduction in the incidence rate of cervical cancer (by 60-90%) and in mortality (by 90%). The test is a simple procedure, which can detect the disease at a pre-cancerous and treatable stage. Cervical cancer ranks third of the female cancers, after breast and ovarian, that affect women in Italy. The principal risks factors are considerated sexual activity at an early age and multiple sex partners for either woman or partner.