The prevention of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer screening concerns women between the ages of 25 and 65. It consists of the collection of cervical cells with a spatula by rubbing the cervix. The material was initially spread out and fixed on a glass slide. It was subsequently fixed in a liquid preservative with an automated spread on a thin-layer slide after centrifugation or filtration, a process called liquid cytology. Microscopic reading was facilitated by field selection using an automated pre-reading system. In July 2019, the French High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended to position DNA research of high-risk human papillomavirus types by PCR (HPV HR test) in first position after the age of 30. This approach is more sensitive than cytology in diagnosing a histological high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and more effective in preventing invasive cancers. The HPV HR test, if positive, is followed by a cytological examination on the same sample to select patients requiring examination of the cervix by colposcopy. Vaccination against the nine most common types of HPV in girls and boys aged 11 to 14 years is the other part of the prevention of invasive cancer.