Stopping cervical cancer before it starts

Community Hospital now offers HPV testing

In the Steven Spielberg movie Minority Report, murder has been virtually eliminated
from the Washington, D.C., of the future. Psychics anticipate crimes before they happen, and people are seized by police for merely having the intent to kill.

Modern lawenforcement techniques aren’t nearly that good at predicting such misfortunes. Modern medicine, on the other hand, often is. For example, a newly developed screening test can identify the virus responsible for cervical cancer well before it causes changes in cells. Now the test is being offered at Community Hospital.

“It’s the biggest improvement in preventing cervical cancer since the Pap test became standard procedure more than 60 years ago,” says Jan Covell, clinical laboratory scientist and Laboratory Services outreach coordinator for Community Hospital. 

Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by something known as high-risk HPV, a high-risk strain of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (or HPV). HPV is incredibly common; at least 80 percent of the population will be infected with the virus at some time. Many people manage to suppress the virus on their own. But in others, the virus can linger for many years. “To put things in perspective, at least 80 percent of women are exposed to HPV, and approximately 30 percent of these women are exposed to high-risk HPV. About 10 percent of these women will develop an abnormal Pap, followed by 1.3 percent of
women developing invasive cancer,” says Dr. Jeffrey Keating, a cytopathologist at Community Hospital. “HPV infection does not equal cancer, but nearly all cervical cancer does come from HPV.” For this reason, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all women 30 and older get tested for these cancer causing strains of (high-risk) HPV when they get their annual Pap smear.

“HPV testing allows us to identify those patients who need the closest follow-up and treatment to prevent cervical cancer,” Keating says.

The test now being offered at Community Hospital is called HPV DNA with Pap Test. It is approved by the FDA and covered by many types of insurance. Samples for the test can be obtained quickly and easily. The HPV test is taken from the same sample as the Pap test and sent to the laboratory for results. “Studies show that the combination of the Pap test and the HPV test can detect nearly 100 percent of precancerous conditions,” Keating says. “Women need to continue to get Pap tests routinely.”

In the past, doctors in the Monterey area have had to send all their HPV tests to distant laboratories. Now Community
Hospital offers the only HPV testing service in the county. “Because HPV is such an important indicator of the future health of women, we’re committed to having this test available in our local community,” Covell says.

The culprit is a virus, and it cannot be cured with antibiotics. However, cervical cancer is extremely treatable when caught early. Freezing, or a LEEP procedure, can virtually eliminate
most malignant cervical cells before they spread elsewhere.

“The exciting new information is that HPV screening will allow a woman to know if she is high-risk or low-risk for more serious cervical problems, or even cancer,” says Monterey obstetrician/gynecologist Stephanie Taylor.

HPV screening in combination with regular Pap testing promises to catch many “sleeping” cases of cervical cancer. An estimated 4,000 American women die from cervical cancer every year. The addition of the HPV test to the standard gynecological exam should help push that number far closer to zero. To get the test, talk to your doctor.