title: Screening for cervical cancer: a modeling study for the US Preventive Services Task Force.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study addresses the following 3 questions posed by the US Preventive Services Task Force: (1) at what age should screening for cervical cancer begin; (2) at what age should screening for cervical cancer end; and (3) how do the benefits and potential harms of screening strategies that use human papillomavirus DNA testing in conjunction with cytology (cotesting) compare with those strategies that use cytology only?
  
  
  METHODS
  A Markov model was updated and used to quantify clinical outcomes (i.e., colposcopies, cancers, and life expectancy) associated with different screening strategies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Screening in the teenaged years is associated with a high number of colposcopies (harms), small differences in cancers detected and, as a result, small gains in life expectancy (benefits). Screening women beginning in the early 20s provides a reasonable balance of the harms and benefits of screening. Among women who have been screened according to the current recommendations for cervical cancer (beginning at age 21 years and conducted every 3 years with cytology), screening beyond 65 years is associated with small additional gains in life expectancy but large increases in colposcopies. For cotesting, a strategy of cytology only conducted every 3 years, followed by cotesting conducted every 5 years (for women ≥30 years), is associated with fewer colposcopies and greater gains in life expectancy compared with screening with cytology only conducted every 3 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this modeling study support current US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for cervical cancer screening.
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Evidence-Based Practice Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. kulas016@umn.edu
authors.forename: Shalini L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kulasingam
authors.forename: Laura J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Havrilesky
authors.forename: Rahel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghebre
authors.forename: Evan R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Myers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011315:Preventive Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult