Having the HPV jab means you ‘only need three smear tests in your lifetime’
WOMEN may only need to attend for three smear tests in their lifetime if they have been given the HPV jab, a study suggests.
Researchers say three cervical screens at 30, 40 and 55 offers the same benefit to vaccinated women as the 12 currently offered.
The HPV vaccine has been offered to schoolgirls aged 11 to 13 across the UK since 2008 – and they will soon be invited for their first smear test.
HPV infects most people at some point. Most infections go away on their own but if an infection is not cleared it can go on to cause cervical cancer.
Figures out this week showed the number of women attending their smear test is at a 20 year low of 72 per cent.
It is intended to detect abnormalities within the cervix, which could develop into cervical cancer if left undetected and untreated.
The study – by Queen Mary University of London – means vaccinated women can still be protected from cervical cancer with fewer screens, saving them time and the NHS cash.
Study leader Professor Peter Sasieni said: “The NHS should benefit from the investment that it’s made by introducing the vaccination programme.
“These women are far less likely to develop cervical cancer so they don’t need such stringent routine checking as those at a higher risk.
“This decision would free up resources for where they are needed most.”
Around 3,200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK each year, with more than half affecting women aged under-45.
Almost 900 die from the disease each year.
A new programme named HPV primary testing is set to be introduced in England by December 2019.
Cervical samples will be tested for HPV but only checked for abnormal cells if the virus is found. The current test checks for abnormalities first, which is less efficient.
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This will also mean unvaccinated women will only need seven screens over their lifetime.
Dr Julie Sharp, from Cancer Research UK said: “This is great news for women.
“The cervical screening programme is already very successful, and has led to a dramatic fall in deaths from the disease since its introduction.
“While we hope to see these improvements to the screening programme in the future, it’s important that women continue to take up invitations for cervical screening.”
Robert Music, from charity Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: “We would urge the government to use any savings made as a result of reduced screening intervals to fund a national cervical screening awareness campaign.
“If we do not reverse falling screening attendance we will simply be faced with more lives lost to the disease which could have been prevented.”
The findings are published in the International Journal of Cancer.
