Cervical cancer screening has become one of the cornerstones for preventative screening in the gynecological world. George Papanicolaou invented this screening event, hence the name Pap smear, and was first used in 1943. The test collects cervical cells near the cervical transitional (transformation) zone and determines if any of them have precancerous changes. Since 1943, few classification systems have been put in place to detail the different types of collected cells. While the current system followed in the United States is the 2014 Bethesda System for Reporting Cervical Cytology.
Guidelines for Pap smear testing frequency vary between the United States Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF) and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) but is recommended for women between the ages of 21 and 65. Screening is not a recommendation under the age of 21. The prevalence of abnormal pap smears is around 3.8%. At least 50 million pap smears are performed yearly. In 2019, there were an estimated 13,000 females diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,000 females who died from cervical cancer.
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