Should we search for high-risk HPV in vaginal vault Pap smear after hysterectomy due to CIN2+?

Women with a history of hysterectomy due to malignant or premalignant cervical disease are currently submitted to tight surveillance, which consists of vaginal Pap tests for as long as 20 years in the late follow-up period. Nevertheless, published literature has concluded that vaginal Pap screening has a very low detection yield. Also, these recommendations are almost entirely from an era before high-risk HPV (hrHPV) DNA testing. The authors’ aim is to review these women’s current management and share the scarce recommendations available for the management of abnormal vaginal Pap and/or adjunctive hrHPV DNA tests in these patients.

Vaginal Pap tests; hrHPV vaginal testing; Follow-up; Hysterectomy; CIN2+.

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