FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Efforts are underway to adopt new screening guidelines aimed at detecting anal cancer in its earliest stages.
Jeff Stevens has worked in the healthcare field for years and knows the importance of annual screenings including getting a pap smear to check for anal cancer.
Yes, that’s right, a pap smear.
“Our brains are ingrained ‘Oh that’s something for women but if you think about ‘what is the test’ it’s taking a sample and seeing if there’s anything not normal in the cells and stuff,” Stevens said.
“Anal cancer comes from the human papillomavirus much like cervical cancer and head and neck cancer,” said Dr. Elie Schochet with the South Florida Colorectal Institute.
He said the Pap test has been used in screening for anal cancer for over two decades, but without scientific data to demonstrate its value.
Now, Schochet said the results of two major trials clearly show that early detection and treatment does save lives.
“And as a result, the International Anal Neoplasia Society just came out with expert consensus guidelines supporting the use of the anal pap smear, H.P.V. testing, and high-resolution anoscopy, which is a version of colposcopy that we were doing in women, in the prevention of anal cancer,” he said.
In November 2020 Stevens was diagnosed with stage one anal cancer.
He said there’s no doubt it was caught early because of the pap test.
“Absolutely because I had no symptoms whatsoever, so if I had waited until I started showing symptoms, it would have been much more progressed,” Stevens said.
It’s hoped the guidelines for screening will be adopted by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, making them the standard for at-risk adults.