Pap testing and high‐risk HPV testing for women aged 65 years and older with surgical pathology follow‐up

BACKGROUND: Current professional guidelines recommend discontinuing Papanicolaou (Pap) test screening in women aged 65 years and older who have had adequate prior negative testing. However, limited data exist on Pap test performance and histologic outcomes in this population. METHODS: test was performed to compare HPV positivity among patients who had abnormal Pap tests. RESULTS: In total, 1536 women aged 65 years and older underwent Pap testing during the study period. The overall HPV-positivity rate was 24.2%. Abnormal Pap results (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or worse) comprised 939 of 1536 cases (61.1%). Histologic follow-up was available for 402 cases. Lesions categorized as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2) or more severe disease were identified in 94 cases (23.3%), including 11 squamous cell carcinomas, three endocervical carcinomas, 40 CIN2/3 lesions, and 40 endometrial carcinomas. Notably, three of 11 squamous cell carcinomas (27.3%) and 12 of 40 CIN2/3 lesions (30%) were HPV-negative. CONCLUSIONS: The abnormal Pap rate in women aged 65 years and older was high (61.1%), whereas HPV positivity remained low. CIN2 or more severe disease and endometrial lesions after negative HPV testing occurred at a substantial rate (33.8%). The rate for detecting atypical glandular cells was also elevated (3.0%), correlating with a significant number of endometrial carcinoma diagnoses. These findings underscore the need for additional research and suggest that continued screening with Pap and HPV cotesting may benefit older women.