The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released new guidelines Friday recommending that women wait until they reach age 21 before having their first cervical cancer screening.
ACOG said the reasoning behind these new recommendations comes from the fact that invasive cervical cancer is very rare in women under age 21.
The immune system of most adolescent women, even sexually active adolescent women, clears strains of the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause the cancer, within one to two years, ACOG stated.
In addition, ACOG said, most women younger than 30 should undergo cervical screening once every two years instead of annually, and those age 30 and older can be rescreened once every three years.
It also recommends that, when women are screened, they undergo the standard Pap test or liquid-based cytology.
Women age 30 and older who have had three consecutive negative cervical cytology test results may be screened once every three years with either the Pap test or liquid-based cytology.
Women with certain risk factors may need more frequent screening, including those who have HIV, ACOG added.
"The tradition of doing a Pap test every year has not been supported by recent scientific evidence," said Alan Waxman, who headed the document developed by ACOG's Committee on Practice Bulletins-Gynecology.
He added, "A review of the evidence to date shows that screening at less frequent intervals prevents cervical cancer just as well, has decreased costs, and avoids unnecessary interventions that could be harmful."
The news comes on the heels of recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force against routine screening of women aged 40 to 49 years for breast cancer.
It further recommended women aged 50 to 74 receive mammograms every other year instead of the yearly mammograms that had been previously recommended.
Those recommendations have been met with almost universal outrage, with many breast cancer survivors coming forward to tell their stories of how they survived due to early detection of their cancers.
The American Cancer Society later released a response to the USPSTF's recommendations, stating that they still recommend that women 40 and over undergo annual screenings.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.