Cervical cancerA
cervical screening programme is established in the UK whereby all women between the ages of 25 and 64 are eligible for a free cervical smear test every three to five years, depending on age.
Currently younger women are not routinely screened because cervical cancer is rare under the age of 25 years, although minor cell changes are common. Teenager's bodies, particularly the cervix, are still developing, which means young women may get an abnormal smear result even when there is nothing wrong.
Although mild abnormalities treated in young women may prevent cancers from developing many years later, the evidence suggests that those changes in the cervix will progress and still be detectable on screening at age 25 and those that will revert to normal will no longer be a source of anxiety. Young women do not therefore have to undergo unnecessary investigation and treatment, which might do more harm than good.
Any woman under 25 who is concerned about her risk of developing cervical cancer or her sexual health generally, should contact her GP or Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic.
