Abstract
Since its introduction, there have been concerns regarding the psychological and psychosexual issues associated with cervical screening and the management of abnormal smears. We are now entering a new era in which vaccination against the main cause of cervical cancer, the human papillomavirus, has become possible, and testing for human papillomavirus is likely to become widespread in screening, triage of abnormal smears and the follow-up of women after treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. It is important that the social and psychological implications of this are understood and that ways of overcoming personal and societal difficulties relating to these issues are found.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has received conference sponsorship, honoraria and consultancy fees from both GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, Sharp and Dohme. She is also an investigator in two GlaxoSmithKline Phase III HPV-16/18 vaccine trials. Her department has received research funding from Qiagen, Gen-Probe Incorporated, Abbott Molecular, BD Diagnostics, mtm laboratories, NorChip and Roche Diagnostics. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Notes
HPV: Human papillomavirus.
Data taken from Citation[26,29].
HPV: Human papillomavirus.
Data taken from Citation[35,101].