Cervical testing guidelines
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Reflex human papillomavirus (HPV) testing with Digene's Hybrid Capture 2 HPV DNA test directly from a liquid-based Pap test sample collected at the initial office visit is the "preferred" form of managing women with atypical squamous cells with undetermined significance (ASCUS), according to the "2001 Consensus Guidelines for the Management of Women With Cervical Cytological Abnormalities." Published in the April 24 Journal of the American Medical Association, the guidelines note that use of the reflex HPV test for secondary management of ASCUS provides 40-60% of women with ASCUS an alternative to the more expensive and "less convenient" colposcopic examination. Cytyc, which agreed to buy Digene for $554 mil. in February, makes the ThinPrep Pap test, the only liquid cytology medium approved for use with the HC2 using the same patient sample (1"The Gray Sheet" Feb. 25, 2002, p. 3)...