270,000 women at risk of cervical cancer: survey

That comprises 7.5 percent of the female demographic between the ages 20 and 40, said the Taiwan Cancer Foundation (TCF), the non-profit organization that designed the questionnaire.

Doctors were cited as urging women who are more susceptible to developing the disease to receive regular pap tests as well as vaccine shots that could offer protection against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.

According to findings, 83 percent of those polled do not take pap tests periodically, although 82 percent of women are sexually active before the age of 18.

Slightly over one in three women have also had two or more sexual partners, results showed.

Failure to screen for the disease, sexual age and history are the three major contributors in development of cervical cancer, said the TCF.

Other risk factors include HPV infection, smoking and long-term use of oral contraceptives.

So long as a woman has had sexual intercourse, there is the chance of contracting the HPV virus that leads to cancer of the cervix, said Tseng Wen-fang, an attending physician with the obstetrics and gynecology department at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).

Getting regular pap smears is absolutely a necessity, even for those who are not considered at risk for the disease, Tseng stressed.

Such screening efforts will aid in early detection and treatment, she explained.

Another expert echoed the opinion, adding that the screening test is not always accurate.

Approximately 20 percent of pap tests show false positives or false negatives, said Wang Kung-liahng, director-general of Taiwan Association of Gynecologic Oncologists (TAGO).

A false positive occurs when a specimen is called abnormal, but the cells are actually normal. A false negative means the patient is told she has normal cells when in fact they are abnormal.

Regular pap tests and pelvic exams will help compensate for the erroneous results, and chances are abnormal cells would be detected the next time, Wang said.

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