Literature Review from the year 2018 in the subject Medicine -
Diagnostics, grade: 1, Egerton University, language: English, abstract:
Primary screening of cervical cancer has been faced with an array of
challenges which are attributable to the lack of appropriate technology.
These challenges compromised the effectiveness of screening programs in
different countries. It is apparent that the detection of cervical
cancer precursors forms the basis for the success of screening programs
for cervical cancer leading to the reduction of cervical cancer
incidence and prevalence trends. Currently, there are two diagnostic
methods that can be used for primary screening of cervical cancer: Pap
cytology and HPV DNA test. However, the comparative effectiveness of
this diagnostic tests indicate that HPV test is more effective than Pap
cytology which is used as a first-line diagnostic method in cervical
cancer prevention programs in many countries. Cytology testing and HPV
testing differ significantly on the level of accuracy and sensitivity.
Evidence studies indicate that HPV test exhibits high sensitivity and
accuracy compared to Pap test. In a publicly-financed healthcare system
such as the US, Canadian and EU, HPV testing has been proven to be more
cost-effective than Pap test. Therefore, there is need to adopt HPV test
for triage and primary screening.