Cervical cancer screening: National snapshot reveals confusion over optimal intervals

Results of a recent survey of provider and patient attitudes toward and behaviors surrounding cervical cancer screening indicate there is much confusion, among both practitioners and patients, about the optimal screening interval for cervical cancer. Only 48% of women understood that HPV can cause cervical cancer.

The survey, of 2000 women and 750 providers, was conducted by the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health and Healthy Women.

This special audiocast is an interview with James S. Simon, MD, panel member for the survey release event in Washington, DC.

Listen to hear the survey results and Dr. Simon discuss:
• The roots of the highlighted confusion around cervical cancer screening among women and practitioners
• How often he screens patients for cervical cancer and what tests he employs
• His patient counseling strategy regarding HPV and other sexually transmitted infections

Dr. James A. Simon reports having served (within the last year) or currently serving as a consultant to or on the advisory boards of: AbbVie, Inc. (North Chicago, IL), Actavis, PLC. (Dublin, Ireland), Amgen Inc. (Thousand Oaks, CA), Amneal Pharmaceuticals (Bridgewater, NJ), Apotex, Inc. (Toronto, Canada), Ascend Therapeutics (Herndon, VA), Dr. Reddy Laboratories, Ltd. (Hyderabad, India), Everett Laboratories, Inc. (West Orange, NJ), Lupin Pharmaceuticals, (Baltimore, MD), Merck & Co., Inc. (Whitehouse Station, NJ), Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (East Hanover, NJ), Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New York, NY), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvrerd, Denmark), Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY), Shionogi Inc. (Florham Park, NJ), Shippan Point Advisors LLC (Upper Saddle River, NJ), Sprout Pharmaceuticals (Raleigh, NC), and TherapeuticsMD (Boca Raton, FL).

He reports having received grant/research support in the last year or currently from: AbbVie, Inc. (North Chicago, IL), Actavis, PLC. (Dublin, Ireland), Agile Therapeutics (Princeton, NJ), Bayer Healthcare LLC., (Tarrytown, NY), New England Research Institute, Inc. (Watertown, MA), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvrerd, Denmark), Palatin Technologies (Cranbury, NJ), and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Jerusalem, Israel), and TherapeuticsMD (Boca Raton, FL).

He also reports having served or currently serving on the speakers' bureaus of: Amgen Inc. (Thousand Oaks, CA), Eisai, Inc. (Woodcliff Lake, NJ), Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ), Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (New York, NY), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvrerd, Denmark), and Shionogi Inc. (Florham Park, NJ).