"Concern" is a relative term. If you mean should you lose sleep, no. If you mean should you work with your health care provider for an explanation or monitoring, yes.
Pap tests (also called a Pap smear or cervical cytology screening) are used to look for changes in the cells of the cervix; abnormal cells can be identified early and treated appropriately. Pap tests provide information on both whether cells have changed and how much cells have changed, so "abnormal" covers a range of possibilities.
The most common cause of abnormal Pap results is HPV (human papillomavirus) infection, and HPV also suggests a range: there are many types of HPV. Some lead to nothing at all, some are linked to genital warts, and some are linked to cancers of the cervix, vulva, and vagina. And, let me repeat, some lead to nothing at all.
When a Pap test returns an abnormal result, it's typical either to monitor (repeat the Pap test in six months or a year) or to take an additional diagnostic step. A colposcopy is the most common; it sounds scary, but it's really only a close visual exam of the cervix with a magnifying device. There are several tissue sampling procedures that take cells for additional lab examination.
About 70 percent of mildly abnormal results revert to the "normal" range at the next screening. That said, it's important to follow your health care provider's recommendation for a follow-up test. This is not the time to procrastinate on that office visit!
Dr. Barb DePree, M.D., has been a gynecologist and women’s health provider for almost 30 years and a menopause care specialist for the past ten.
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