Curtis Swanson, COO at ClearCyte, on Changes in Cancer Screening

Healthcare coverage for cervical cancer screenings has become more common over the years, but there is recent controversy surrounding potential changes to the recommendations, which may impact the health care of all women in the U.S.

What happened?
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recently updated their suggestion for women’s gynecological testing. Previously, the task force agreed with other organizations, including the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, that co-testing with a Pap smear and an HPV test every five years would be the best way to catch cases of cervical cancer. However, USPSTF has now changed their suggestion to an HPV test every 5 years or a Pap smear every 3 years. ACOG has reinforced their suggestion, claiming no need for change.

Why change the recommendation?
The reasoning behind the change comes from a series of seven randomly-controlled trials USPSTF conducted. These trials took place in six different countries: England, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, and Canada.

Why is this controversial?
The USPSTF studies utilized tests that are not the standard in the U.S. Some doctors have called the results into question, because science has not concluded to what extent results differ. When speaking with NPR, Dr. Harvey Kaufman, medical director of Quest Diagnostics, called the calculations “mathematical gymnastics”. However, even using these results, 5% of women whose cancer was not caught with an HPV test would have been caught with a Pap smear.
Furthermore, there is controversy because only one test reported the race and ethnicity of subjects. This is important, because these countries are predominantly white, but Latina and Black women have the highest rates of cervical cancer.

What could this recommendation mean?
If the recommendation changes to USPSTF’s suggestion, this could cut back on funding for these tests. That means more women would be required to pay out-of-pocket expenses if they want the same coverage, and many women cannot afford to do so. Although co-testing can result in false positives and lead to over treating patients, there is also the chance that discontinuing co-testing can result in less women getting tested and treated for cervical cancer, which can have fatal effects.

What do I do now?
The best thing to do now is educate yourself about USPSTF’s draft recommendation statement and leave a comment with any concerns you may have. Also, speak to your gynecologist about what you have available now, and what may change if this recommendation passes.

About the author

Curtis Swanson is the COO of ClearCyte Diagnostics, a cancer screening company in Bellevue, Washington dedicated to the international marketing of medical screening to a wide range of markets. Additionally, he has experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, accounting GAAP & FASB, and business operational management. Throughout his career, Curtis has proven himself as a leader, innovator, and developer.

Learn more about Curtis Swanson here.