During my last doctor's visit I noticed a sign in the exam room urging patients to ask about a new Pap test called PapSure. Curious, I asked my doctor for more information.
My doctor said she was unfamiliar with the scientific evidence for the test's benefit, but added that she'd heard that the test -- which costs $75 and is not covered by health insurance -- was effective. The test, she said, has "good results and picks up every little infection." Still skeptical, I decided to look further into the test.
PapSure, a visual screening exam performed in the doctor's office, is another in a string of new cervical screening technologies that aim to increase the accuracy of the traditional Pap smear, which misses about 50% of all cancers and pre-cancers. With PapSure, physicians apply a solution to the cervix and use a special light to spot abnormal tissue, in effect combining a traditional Pap smear with a visual examination.
The new techniques, which are being marketed to doctors nationwide, involve different technologies. They include ThinPrep, in which the Pap smear sample is put into a liquid fixative instead of smeared on a slide, and HPV testing, which looks for viruses that cause cervical cancer.
As with many promising new technologies, PapSure and other screening tests are being heavily promoted and adopted by doctors who may not have a lot of time to evaluate the scientific pros and cons of a particular test. And the science isn't always definitive.
No studies have been done, for instance, that show PapSure actually reduces cervical cancer deaths. Research has shown that PapSure, like most new cervical screening technologies, is more sensitive than the traditional smear. That means it picks up more abnormalities.
According to Watson Diagnostics, which is marketing PapSure, the exam, when combined with a Pap smear, roughly doubles the detection rate of suspicious areas. This means that women who have negative results on both tests are very unlikely to have undetected cervical cancer, said Ellen McCune, Watson's vice president of sales and marketing for women's health.
Proponents of PapSure and similar tests say that improved detection techniques may save lives down the road. About 5,000 women die of cervical cancer each year in the U.S.
Although no one would argue with the value of saving lives, PapSure has some drawbacks. Some researchers say it is not very specific: Not every abnormality or infection it finds will be cancerous or pre-cancerous. In other words, it produces a lot of false positives.
