Testing times

摘要

Cervical cancer rates in developed countries have plummeted by as much as 70% since 1950 primarily thanks to intensive screening programmes using the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test, which looks for abnormal cells of the cervical lining. Pap tests have become a rite of passage for many women. And although screening programmes have been effective in countries that can afford to implement them, the tests are problematic.