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Cervical Cancer Screening Thin Prep Pap Technology

Thin Prep Pap Smear

In 2000 the FDA approved another form of technology for detecting cervical cancer in women. This liquid based technology may be more accurate than the traditional or conventional Pap smear.

Using this method, your doctor collects a sample of your cervical cells using a plastic medical spatula or a tool called an endocervical brush. Your doctor places liquid preparations in a processor machine with a filter. This test is more exact and less likely to be influenced by contaminants, though like with the traditional Pap smear, you shouldn’t go in for a test when you are on your menstrual period.

ThinPrep technology may help detect up to 95 percent of high-grade lesions in the body, and is considered almost 100 percent accurate when combined with HPV testing for screening of cervical cancer.

Here are some added advantages of ThinPrep technology:

• More accurate for diagnosing intrepithelial lesions.
• Higher degree of accuracy detecting high-grade lesions in the genital tract.
• Decreased number of misinterpretations of Pap results.
• Improved sample collection noted with use of Thin Prep preparations.
• The same sample can be used to test for other problems and disease including HPV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

SurePath, another liquid preparation, is similarly effective. This method of cervical sampling uses a “broom collection” tool to collect samples. Your doctor inserts the tool using a twisting motion to collect samples from the cervix. The advantages of this technology are much the same as ThinPrep, including higher accuracy rate than traditional Pap testing.