Quebec to use HPV test to screen for cervical cancer, replacing Pap test

(CTV News) –– Quebec says it will start using human papillomavirus tests as its primary screening tool for cervical cancer, replacing the Pap smear.

The Health Department says the province will systematically offer HPV testing for cervical cancer screening to all women aged 25 to 65, every five years.

A government health-care research institute said in a January report that the HPV test is more sensitive than a Pap smear and could allow patients to collect their own test samples.

The Institut national d’excellence en sante et en services sociaux says that almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV. (…)