Pap smear screening is a vital part of the modern medical world that women rely on to detect early signs of cervical cancer. However, there has been an alarming number of false negative results produced from routine Pap smear screening tests, which may allow this aggressive form of cancer to progress.

Pap smear screening tests have been around for over 60 years, and have become one of the most effective prevention methods for cervical cancer. Before Pap smear screening was developed, cervical cancer was of the most common causes of death for women in the United States.

Pap smear screening tests have become so relied upon, that officials state that women who undergo this process routinely should have very little or no chance of developing cervical cancer.

Overview of Pap Smear Screening Process

Pap smear screening tests collect cells from the cervix, so the cells can be examined in medical labs to see if there are any signs of cancer. It is important to note that Pap smear results vary between patients, and additional procedures may be required if a patient produces unclear or abnormal test results.

According to the CDC, an unclear Pap smear result indicates that the test was inconclusive due to the cells changing in appearance due to an outlying factor such as pregnancy or menopause. If the Pap smear is abnormal, this means that cells may have changed in a minor or major way.

If the changes are minor, doctors are not normally concerned but may recommend an HPV cancer test. Doctors do become concerned if the cells are changed in a big way. Serious changes to the cellular structure is often a sign of cancer, in which additional tests like a biopsy may be necessary to properly diagnose the condition.

If early stage cervical cancer is detected, then preventive measures and treatment can be immediately implemented. However, in the alleged instances of false negative Pap smear screening results, women have faced devastating diagnoses and drastically shortened life expectancies.

This was reportedly the case for one woman in Florida, who died of cervical cancer in 2011. Her husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the medical lab that processed her Pap smear screening test, which reportedly produced a false negative result in 2008. With the false negative result, the cancer was allowed to spread and was diagnosed at a latent stage upon discovery.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer due to the effectiveness of Pap smear screening tests, making the trend of false negatives a big problem. While there could be a number of factors that allow for a false negative to occur, the high demand of the Pap smear screening tests being processed has been reported to be one of the main contributors.

According to the CDC, there are approximately 17.4 million Pap smear screening tests provided in routine medical appointments and 3.5 million tests provided to hospital outpatient department visits in 2014 alone. With this level of demand, it is not surprising that a lab technician could make a mistake in trying to do a quick examination of the Pap smear screening.