What is the difference between a Pap test and a HPV test for cervical cancer?

Although both the Pap smear and Human papillomaviruses (HPV) test helps women screen for cervical cancer, they look for different things.

The Pap test looks for premalignant and malignant (cancerous) cells gathered from the cervix. The Pap test looks for cell changes on your cervix that could develop into cervical cancer.

It is recommended for women over the age of 18 and all sexually active women have annual Pap smear tests performed. If results from a Pap test for women over the age of 21 indicate abnormal changes in cells that may be due to a high-risk type of HPV, it is recommended that a follow up DNA HPV test be performed.

The HPV test looks for the high risk strains of HPV virus that can cause these cell changes which can lead to cervical cancer.