Screening for Cervical Cancer

Screening is a public health intervention administered to a target populationwithout symptoms. Screening is not performed to diagnose a disease, but toidentify individuals with a higher likelihood of developing the disease itself or aprecursor to the disease. Not all diseases are suitable for screening programs. Thefollowing criteria help determine whether a disease is suitable for a screeningprogram: (1) The disease is bound to have serious consequences. (2) The diseasemust have a detectable preclinical and asymptomatic stage. (3) Treatment at thepreclinical stage should influence the long-term course and prognosis of thedisease being screened. (4) Care must be available and accessible to those whohave a positive screening test. History, screening tests and treatment options forcervical pre-cancer meet these criteria.