Cervical Cancer Screening

Screening methods for cervical cancer for the general population: joint recommendations of the American cancer society, the American society for colposcopy and cervical pathology, and the American society for clinical pathology

Population	Recommended Screening Method	Comment
Women younger than 21 years	No screening
Women aged 21-29 years	Cytology alone every 3 years
Women aged 30-65 years	Human papillomavirus and cytology cotesting (preferred) every 5 years Cytology alone (acceptable) every 3 years	Screening by HPV testing alone is not recommended*
Women older than 65 years	No screening is necessary after adequate negative prior screening results	Women with history of CIN 2, CIN 3, or adenocarcinoma in situ should continue routine age-based screening for a total of 20 years after spontaneous regression or appropriate management of CIN 2, CIN 3, or adenocarcinoma in situ
Women who underwent total hysterectomy	No screening is necessary	Applies to women without a cervix and without a history CIN 2, CIN 3, adenocarcinoma in situ, or cancer in the past 20 years
Women vaccinated against HPV	Follow age-specific recommendations (same as unvaccinated women)