Lesbians and Bisexual Women Lag Behind Heterosexual Women in Receiving Adequate Cervical Cancer Screening, Despite Being Equally at Risk for Cervical Cancer

Boston, MA (PRWEB) April 04, 2013

Lesbians and bisexual women are as likely as heterosexual women to develop cervical cancer, but are much less likely to be regularly screened for it, putting them at greater risk of the potentially deadly disease, according to a policy brief released today by The Fenway Institute.

Yearly, over 12,000 American women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and over 4,000 die from the disease. Cervical cancer was once considered the most deadly female cancer, but due to the highly effective screening test called the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, diagnoses and mortality have dropped dramatically, and cervical cancer is now considered the most treatable female cancer. However, cervical cancer remains dangerous for those who do not undergo regular screening. The majority of cervical cancers in the US occur among women who have never been screened or who were not screened within the past five or more years.

This is bad news for lesbians and bisexual women, who are up to 10 times less likely to undergo routine screening for cervical cancer. The vast majority of cervical cancers are caused by a human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, and many sexual minority women and their healthcare providers are under the misperception that HPV cannot be passed between women during sex. In fact, because HPV passes through skin-to-skin genital, as well as potentially through oral-vaginal and digital-vaginal contact, even women who exclusively have sex with women are at risk for contracting the virus, and by extension, cervical cancer. Multiple studies have shown that lesbians and bisexual women are just as likely as heterosexual women to have HPV and cervical abnormalities that could potentially lead to cancer if unchecked.

Clinicians have a responsibility to provide accurate information about the benefits of cervical cancer screening to all women and to create a conducive environment that encourages patient acceptance of this practice," says Jennifer Potter, MD, director of Womens Health at Fenway Health.

The Fenway Institute analysis, titled Promoting Cervical Cancer Screening among Lesbians and Bisexual Women, written by Sarah Peitzmeier, MSPH, examines the heightened risk profile of lesbians and bisexual women, such as lower rates of health insurance coverage and less access to preventive health care, including routine pelvic exams. It also describes efforts in the UK and Australia to promote Pap tests among lesbians, and why it is important to offer Pap tests to some transgender men, many of whom retain a cervix and may be at risk for cervical cancer.

The brief concludes with a set of policy recommendations, including: