A growing number of women are concerned about pap smear accuracy in the wake of lawsuits around the world in which women received an all-clear from their doctors or lab and then later developed cervical cancer.

The primary purpose of the pap smear test is to identify situations that could evolve into cervical cancer, putting women at risk for related side effects and complications. Unfortunately, pap smear accuracy has been called into question in recent years after many women in the United Kingdom received notification that their normal pap smear results may have been reported in error.

Unfortunately, many of these women went on to develop cervical cancer after the fact because the lab test results were inaccurate. Pap smear accuracy for that reason is a leading issue, causing many women to wonder whether or not they need to get a second opinion.

The pap smear is used as the most effective cancer screening method in current history. However, laboratories may overlook or misclassify cell samples as normal despite the fact that there may be abnormalities among the half million cells located on each slide.

Pap smear accuracy can detect cervical cancer and abnormalities up to 95 percent of the time. This testing method is relied on as the leading testing option for women to identify pre-cancerous conditions. But even when pap smear accuracy is completely correct, it cannot prove that a woman does not have cervical cancer.

Unfortunately, factors that can affect pap smear accuracy may lead women to believe they are not at risk of developing cervical cancer, causing them to forego any second opinion or future pap screening for several years.

Problems with Pap Smear Accuracy

In the event that the pap smear accuracy was not correct at the time they were informed about it, the woman may develop cervical cancer. Errors can occur because a cell sample was not collected adequately, because enough cells were not collected or because the microscope slide was not prepared appropriately.

False negatives and false positives are also other issues that affect pap smear accuracy.

When a woman receives an all-clear from her doctors that she is not currently at risk of developing cervical cancer, there is a strong chance that she will rely on this information to make future decisions and may forego critical treatment options because she has no reason to suspect that she is at risk for cervical cancer.

This can make the situation of being diagnosed with cervical cancer down the line especially devastating and unfortunately, more women are finding themselves in this situation and having to take legal action to recover compensation against the laboratories that gave them an inaccurate read on their pap smear results.

When inaccurate pap smear results give women the false understanding that they can avoid further testing or go without a pap smear for a few years, cervical cancer that was already in developmental stages can grow quickly.

If you or someone you know has already been negatively affected by misread pap smear accuracy, you may be eligible to participate in a class action lawsuit investigation.