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So long, smear test. Australia is about to become one of the first countries to introduce a new cervical screening program that will reduce cancer rates and require fewer tests.

From 1 December, Australian women will transition from a 2-yearly Pap smear – also known as a Pap test or smear test – to a 5-yearly human papillomavirus (HPV) test.

The new test is expected to reduce cervical cancer risk by  because it detects the disease at an earlier stage.

The Netherlands was the first country to switch to the new test in January. The �����Ի��� have announced they will follow shortly and Italy and Sweden are considering it. Women in the US can pay to have an HPV test but no organised screening program exists.

Unlike the smear test, which looks for abnormal changes in cervical cells that can lead to cancer, the HPV test detects the sexually-transmitted papillomavirus that causes over 99 per cent of these abnormalities in the first place.

The new test can be done every 5 years because it takes many years – usually 10 or more – for HPV infections to cause cancer.

Like the smear test, HPV screening still requires a sample of cells to be collected from the cervix using a special brush. If the sample tests positive for HPV, the patient will be monitored for any abnormal cell changes that can be treated before they potentially turn cancerous. In most cases, the HPV infection will clear up on its own.

Double whammy

Australia has already seen a sharp decline in cancer-causing HPV infections since it became the first country to introduce a national HPV vaccination program in 2007. Research shows that the incidence of precancerous cervical changes in young vaccinated women has .

“HPV testing is the next wave of innovation in reducing cervical cancer,” says  at Cancer Council New South Wales in Australia.

Some women are worried that the switch from 2-yearly to 5-yearly testing is a government , but Canfell says this is not the case. “It’s absolutely about introducing the latest technology and providing greater protection for women,” she says.

It will be important to remind women that they still need to have the 5-yearly HPV test even if they’ve been vaccinated, says Canfell. This is because the vaccine only protects against some strains of the HPV virus. The latest vaccine version – Gardasil 9 – covers 9 strains that together cause  of cervical cancer.