HPV Testing Update: The 2006 ASCCP Consensus Guidelines
Edward J. Wilkinson, MD, FACOG, FCAP

The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) recently released updated consensus guidelines for HPV testing and its applications in screening for cervical cancer and management of women with a Pap test interpreted as ASCUS or LSIL.

Case Study
Kenneth D. Hatch, MD

Colposcopic Findings of Adenocarcinoma in Situ

The colposcopic findings of glandular lesions are often difficult to identify. The current American Society of Coloscopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) guidelines for atypical glandular cells (AGC) require colposcopic evaluation and directed biopsies, endocervical curettage, and D&C for women over 35 years of age.

Journal Review Highlights
Thomas F. Purdon, MD, FACOG

Counseling Adolescents on HPV and Cervical Cancer Prevention

In a multidisciplinary study to identify issues and problems encountered in offering adolescent populations cervical cancer prevention, Sussman et al. developed a series of guidelines on counseling.

Prevalence of HPV in Young Women

Seropositivity and conversion for the human papillomavirus in young females is the focus of this study, which comes from several government health agencies and infirmaries in the United Kingdom.

Predictive Values: What Do They Tell Us?
Diane M. Harper, MD, MPH, MS

Tests. More tests. And repeated tests. In our healthy patients who desire preventive health care, what kind of information do screening tests really provide?

Barriers to Health: Factoring Obesity in Cervical Screening
Scott A. Sullivan, MD, MSCR

There are over 4,000 deaths annually in the United States from cervical cancer—despite both the success of cervical cancer screening programs with Papanicolaou smears, and the widespread availability and public awareness of screening. A significant majority of cervical carcinomas result from some barrier to accessing medical care, and socioeconomic barriers to screening are well documented. Now, a growing body of evidence suggests another barrier to routine cervical screening: a patient’s weight.

Breaking News Highlight: Canadian Study of Conventional Pap Smears
Thomas F. Purdon, MD, FACOG

When the newspaper and press releases were published several weeks ago on the article out of Canada by Mayrand and colleagues, I was reminded of a similar headline-grabbing study in 2002.