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TechnographNew Pap test clears up confusion for students
By Bridget Maiellaro
Posted: 11/4/05 Section: News
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Many female students mistakenly believe an abnormal Pap test result automatically means cancer. However, a recent and more efficient way of screening for such abnormalities called the ThinPrep Pap Test is helping combat this misconception.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the ThinPrep Pap Test in 1996, stating that it is "significantly more effective," according to the official Web site of the Cytyc Corporation, a medical device company that provides products focused on women's health.
Instead of smearing cells onto a slide, the new test involves putting the sample in a liquid-filled vial, which preserves the cells for a longer period of time. McKinley Health Center acquired the test in August of 2004 and is currently using the ThinPrep Pap Test.
The clinical benefits of the ThinPrep Pap Test include increased disease detection, reduction of unclear diagnoses, improved results and the ability to perform additional tests out of the same sample, such as testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea, two sexually transmitted infections.
Abnormal results could also be caused by a number of things, such as yeast, bacterial vaginosis, or a type of human papillomavirus. Human papillomavirus is the broad category for over a hundred different strands of sexually transmitted viruses.
Nicole Olbie, sophomore in LAS, learned about the variation of test results seven years ago, when her mother's Pap test result came back abnormal.
Her family assumed that she had cancer, when really it was just a low-risk type of the virus.
"It was a scary experience for my entire family," Olbie said.
There are over a hundred different types of low-risk and high-risk, or cervical cancer-causing, human papillomaviruses, which are the most prominent in abnormal test results. The virus is immensely common, even though many people, including students at the University, are unaware that it even exists.
Up to 80 percent of men and women will become infected with the virus at some time in their life and 60 percent of sexually active college students may become infected while at school, according to a handout released by the McKinley Health Center.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the ThinPrep Pap Test in 1996, stating that it is "significantly more effective," according to the official Web site of the Cytyc Corporation, a medical device company that provides products focused on women's health.
Instead of smearing cells onto a slide, the new test involves putting the sample in a liquid-filled vial, which preserves the cells for a longer period of time. McKinley Health Center acquired the test in August of 2004 and is currently using the ThinPrep Pap Test.
The clinical benefits of the ThinPrep Pap Test include increased disease detection, reduction of unclear diagnoses, improved results and the ability to perform additional tests out of the same sample, such as testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea, two sexually transmitted infections.
Abnormal results could also be caused by a number of things, such as yeast, bacterial vaginosis, or a type of human papillomavirus. Human papillomavirus is the broad category for over a hundred different strands of sexually transmitted viruses.
Nicole Olbie, sophomore in LAS, learned about the variation of test results seven years ago, when her mother's Pap test result came back abnormal.
Her family assumed that she had cancer, when really it was just a low-risk type of the virus.
"It was a scary experience for my entire family," Olbie said.
There are over a hundred different types of low-risk and high-risk, or cervical cancer-causing, human papillomaviruses, which are the most prominent in abnormal test results. The virus is immensely common, even though many people, including students at the University, are unaware that it even exists.
Up to 80 percent of men and women will become infected with the virus at some time in their life and 60 percent of sexually active college students may become infected while at school, according to a handout released by the McKinley Health Center.
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