Recommendation for cervical cancer screening has been extended to a higher age range.
Previously performed on women between the ages of 25 and 59, the Pap smear, which diagnoses the disease, should now be performed up to age 64.
Agência Brasil – The age for women to undergo a Pap smear, used to diagnose cervical cancer, will be expanded. Previously, it was performed on women between 25 and 59 years old, and now the age range will be extended to 64 years.
The guidelines apply to both the public and private healthcare systems and will be announced this Monday evening by the National Cancer Institute (Inca), during the opening of the World Congress of Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy in Rio de Janeiro, as one of the new guidelines for diagnosing the disease.
According to the recommendation, developed in conjunction with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), medical societies, and the Ministry of Health, sample collection for the test will continue to be performed starting at age 25. It will only cease after the patient receives two consecutive negative results after age 64.
Gynecologist Flávia de Miranda Corrêa, from the Oncology Care Network Support Division of INCA (National Cancer Institute), stated in a note that "the expansion of the age range for cervical cancer screening follows the international trend related to increased longevity. Today, Brazilian women have a life expectancy of up to 76 years."
Another new development is that the test, which used to be done annually, will now be recommended every three years. But for this to be the case, the patient needs to have two negative diagnoses in consecutive years.
Based on the results of a Pap smear, a preventive exam, the doctor can identify lesions before cervical cancer develops and begin treatment.
According to the Inca (Brazilian National Cancer Institute), more than 18 cases of cervical cancer are registered every year, resulting in 4,8 deaths. This type of tumor is the second most common among women, second only to breast cancer. Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among women.