At what age should I stop having Pap smears?

A woman over 30 years old, who has had normal pap smears and negative HPV tests, should continue to have pap smears every 5 years. She may stop having pap smears at age 65.

If a woman has had abnormal pap smears or is HPV positive, or has high risk conditions such as diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure or HIV positive, she will need pap smears or other testing as determined in discussion with her health care provider.

The woman who is no longer having periods because she had a hysterectomy for reasons other than cancer no longer needs to have pap smears.

This is the consortium agreement from the expert panels at the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the United States Preventative Services Task Force released in 2012.

The guidelines about how often pap smears should be done and when pap smears can stop have been changing rapidly in the last decade. This is because of the explosion of information about the virus HPV that is largely, if not exclusively, responsible for changes in the cells of the cervix, or abnormal pap smears.

Finally, the Pap smear is a test about the health of the cervix only. The frequency of pap smears doesn't change a woman's need to take care of herself by having regular gynecological and breast examinations or discussions with her health care provider about her healthy lifestyle. 

According to the guidelines set forth by the American Cancer Society (ACS), women who are over the age of 65 and have had regular Pap smear screenings with normal results do not need to be screened for cervical cancer. Women who have had a hysterectomy (uterus and cervix removed) and have no history of cervical cancer or pre-cancer do not need to be screened with pap smears.

Women who have a history of abnormal pap screenings or other gynecologic concerns should speak with their health care provider about the best options for them.

The three organizations that set guidelines for cervical cancer screening generally agree that some women can stop getting Pap smears between the ages of 65 to 70. The American Cancer Society recommends that Pap test screening be discontinued at age 70 in women who have had at least three normal Pap tests in the past 10 years and are not at increased risk for cervical cancer. The United States Preventive Services Task Force says that women at average risk for cervical cancer can stop Pap test screening at age 65. And the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology says that women at average risk can stop getting Pap smears between the ages of 65 and 70.

This guideline doesn't apply if a woman has tested positive for human papillomavirus (the sexually transmitted virus associated with cervical cancer), was exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero, or is HIV-positive or immune-compromised or otherwise at increased risk for cervical cancer (for example, because of a past history of the disease). In any of these circumstances, a woman should work with her clinician to develop an individualized screening program.