Cancer Screening Guidelines

Cancer Screening Guidelines, Color enhanced transmission electron micrograph of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), isolated from common warts. Although infection with human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the leading cause of cervical cancer, until now, an influential government group has been reluctant to recommend using the HPV test to screen for the disease.

That changed on Wednesday when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that the HPV test is appropriate for some women as part of routine cervical cancer screening. The task force had previously said, in draft guidelines released in October, that there wasn’t enough evidence to recommend the HPV test, but the new recommendations are based on a review of the most recent scientific studies, which find that HPV tests can reliably detect cervical cancer and spare lives.

The group published its advice in the Annals of Internal Medicine this week. At the same time, the American Cancer Society and other groups released similar screening recommendations. In general, the new advice scales back the frequency of screening for cervical cancer – a slow-growing disease – in order to maximize its benefits for women, while reducing its risks. False-positive results can lead to unnecessary biopsies that may affect the health of pregnancy in the future, increasing women’s risks of preterm birth and low-birth-weight babies.

Breast Cancer Screening

Breast Cancer Screening, After three days of controversy, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity says it is reversing its decision to cut breast-screening grants to Planned Parenthood.

“We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives,” a Komen statement said.

Planned Parenthood said it received more than $400,000 from 6,000 donors in the 24 hours after news broke that its affiliates would be losing grants for breast screenings from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer foundation.
Purpose CEO and co-founder Jeremy Heimans speaks with the Washington Post’s Emi Kolawole about the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and what it could mean for the Foundation’s future and branding. (Feb. 2)

As first reported by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Komen had adopted criteria excluding Planned Parenthood from grants because it was under government investigation, notably a probe launched in Congress at the urging of anti-abortion groups.

Komen said Friday it would change the criteria so it wouldn’t apply to such investigations.