Cervical Cancer

CHICAGO -- Low-income US women and women in developing countries who are tested for cervical cancer could benefit from faster, more aggressive treatment, two studies suggest. Some of those women would be treated unnecessarily, but some specialists believe the trade-off might save lives in impoverished countries where women often die from a cancer that can be treated if caught early. "We may have to decide what's feasible, what we can afford, and what's the best care for different groups," said Dr. Wendy Brewster, coauthor of one of the studies and a University of California, Irvine, researcher.

When Zachary Boyer bicycles from Baltimore to Portland, Ore., later this month, the 4,400-mile trip will have a more personal meaning for him than he could have known when he signed up over winter break. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth freshman and Assonet resident signed up for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults benefit ride; a short time later, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Boyer thought about making the cross-country trek a year ago, but having waited, his journey will have more meaning.

TRENTON, N.J. -- An experimental vaccine to prevent the most common forms of cervical cancer has proved 100 percent effective in a two-year test on more than 10,000 girls and women, the drug maker Merck & Co. has reported. Merck is hoping to win Food and Drug Administration approval for the vaccine, Gardasil, and to put it on the market as soon as late 2006. It would be the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, a disease caused almost exclusively by a common sexually transmitted virus called the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Doctors expect the vaccine to be offered to girls -- and...

Q. What does it mean to have an abnormal Pap test? A. The Pap test (or Pap smear) is designed to detect cancer of the cervix or abnormal cells that could lead to cancer. A small amount of cells are collected from the lining of the cervix and then viewed under a microscope for abnormalities, which are classified on a standard scale. About 55 million Pap tests are performed each year in the United States, and about six percent (3.5 million) are abnormal. "The good news is that if you have Paps regularly and you follow up [on abnormal results]

WASHINGTON - Scientists advising the government have confirmed that a Pap test is a good way to screen young and middle-aged women for cervical cancer, and it is needed only once every three years. But they said there is not enough evidence yet to back testing for HPV, the virus that causes the disease. The finding on HPV, the human papillomavirus, is at odds with guidelines issued by the American Cancer Society and other groups, which have long said that using both tests can be an option for women over 30. Those groups and the government advisory task force separately plan to release...

NEW YORK - A relatively new screening test was about twice as accurate as the traditional Pap smear at spotting cervical cancer, according to the first rigorous study of the test in North America. The new test could replace the 50-year-old Pap technique in a matter of years, researchers say. And there's a bonus for women: They won't need a screening as often. The HPV test, which looks for the virus that causes cervical cancer, correctly spotted 95 percent of the cancers. The Pap test, which checks for abnormal cells under a microscope, found only 55 percent, according to researchers at...

Fewer than 6 percent of American women who practice birth control use an intrauterine device, or IUD, as their chosen method, but perhaps more should consider trying it. A new study published in the journal Lancet Oncology suggests that use of an IUD lowered the risk of cervical cancer. Women who reported ever using an IUD had lowered their chances of developing cervical cancer by about half compared with those who reported never using the device - though IUDs were not found to thwart infections with the cervical cancer-causing human papillomavirus.

WASHINGTON -- Virtually all deaths from cervical cancer are preventable, yet the disease will kill almost 4,000 women in this country this year. Frustrated scientists know who most of them will be: black women in the South, Hispanics along the Texas-Mexico border, white women in Appalachia and the rural Northeast, Vietnamese immigrants. Efforts are underway to reach those women, including a $25 million federal program poised to let communities recruit volunteers -- average women who speak their patients' language and can engender trust -- to push Pap testing and...

Too many doctors are testing the wrong women, or using the wrong test, for a virus that causes cervical cancer. The days of one-size-fits-all screening for cervical cancer are long gone. How often to get a Pap smear — and whether to be tested for the cancer-causing HPV virus at the same time — now depend on your age and other circumstances. But a government study reports Monday that a surprising number of doctors and clinics aren’t following guidelines from major medical groups on how to perform HPV checks, suggesting a lot of women are getting unnecessary...

Only about half of the teenage girls in the U.S. have rolled up their sleeves for a controversial vaccine against cervical cancer — a rate well below those for two other vaccinations aimed at adolescents. The vaccine hit the market in 2006. By last year, just 49 percent of girls had gotten at least the first of the recommended three shots for human papilloma virus, or HPV, a sexually-transmitted bug that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Only a third had gotten all three doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said...

CHICAGO - New research suggests that long-term use of any type of hormones to ease menopause symptoms can raise a woman's risk of breast cancer. It is already known that taking pills that combine estrogen and progestin - the most common type of hormone therapy - can increase breast cancer risk. But women who no longer have a uterus can take estrogen alone, which was thought to be safe and possibly even slightly beneficial in terms of cancer risk. The new study suggests otherwise, if the pills are used for many years.

Leading medical groups made new recommendations on Wednesday for cervical cancer screening, advising against annual Pap smears in favor of screening every three to five years for most women ages 21 to 65. The two sets of recommendations issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force, a government advisory group, and by the American Cancer Society in conjunction with two other medical societies are nearly identical: Pap smears should begin at...

Leading medical groups recommended new guidelines for cervical cancer screening Wednesday, advising against annual Pap smears in favor of screening every three to five years for most women ages 21 to 65. The recommendations issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force, a government advisory group, and by the American Cancer Society in conjunction with two other medical societies are nearly identical: Pap smears should begin at age 21, and...

About 16 million Americans have oral HPV, a sexually transmitted virus more commonly linked with cervical cancer that also can cause mouth cancer, according to the first nationwide estimate. HPV — human papilloma virus — is increasingly recognized as a major cause of oral cancers affecting the back of the tongue and tonsil area. Smoking and heavy drinking are also key causes. Until now, it was not known how many people have oral HPV infections. Overall, 7 percent of Americans aged 14 to 69 are infected, the study found.

Health care costs in the United States have skyrocketed to more than $2 trillion a year -- up from $253 billion in 1980, and a fair amount of the increase can be attributed to unnecessary medical tests, according to a study published in today's Annals of Internal Medicine. While many patients believe that doctors shouldn't consider the price tag when their health is at stake, needless medical tests -- including cancer screenings performed too frequently or expensive imaging tests for vague back pain -- have led to a dramatic rise in health insurance premiums.

FIGHT SONG: Since 2002, musician Christine Baze of Salem has made more than 100 stops throughout the United States and Canada with The Yellow Umbrella Tour, which is aimed at educating and empowering women about cervical cancer prevention. Now, Baze - 42 and a cervical cancer survivor - is bringing the tour home. "Painting Salem Yellow" takes place Sunday through Jan. 15 at various locations throughout the city. Baze performs eight different shows, with the help of many friends, sharing her music, story, and message.

A global vaccines group said Thursday it was working to buy shots to protect up to 2 million women and girls in poor countries from cervical cancer. After a meeting in Bangladesh this week, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation said women and girls in nine developing countries might be immunized against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer, by 2015. The group, also known as the GAVI Alliance, could not immediately name the countries likely to get the vaccines.

There's more news on cancer screening tests — this time for women. Scientists advising the government say a Pap test is a good way to screen young and middle-aged women for cervical cancer, and it's only needed once every three years. But they say there is not enough evidence yet to back testing for HPV, the virus that causes the disease. That's at odds with the American Cancer Society and other groups, which have long said that using both tests can be an option for women over 30. Those groups and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force...

Former U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife have launched a project in Zambia to expand the availability of cervical cancer screening, treatment and breast care education. The George W. Bush Institute said in a statement Friday that Zambia is the first country to become part of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon project. The Bushes were in the country Friday. The Bush institute, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.N. AIDS agency and Susan G. Komen for the Cure are working together on the project, bringing public and private funds to the effort.

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Mattel Inc., down 63 cents at $27.76 The toy maker's cheif executive Robert Eckert will retire at the end of the year and be replaced by its chief operating officer. Cooper Industries PLC, up $1.37 at $53.51 The electrical products maker is being added the S&P 500 Index, replacing asset-management company Janus Capital Group. Nasdaq Pharmasset Inc., up $61.47 at $134.14 Gilead Sciences agreed to buy the drug...