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How accurate is cervical screening?

Evidence shows that the benefits of cervical screening outweigh any risks. Along with the HPV vaccine, cervical screening is the best way to protect against cervical cancer and prevents over 7 in 10 diagnoses. However, like any screening test, cervical screening is not 100% accurate and there are some risks. 

Screening aims to identify whether a person is at higher risk of developing cervical cell changes or cervical cancer. This means they can get any treatment they need as early as possible. Wales now uses HPV primary screening, which is a better test as it is based on individual risk. This means that how frequently a person is invited for cervical screening is based on their last result and their recall will be within a timeframe that is safe for them.  

No screening programme is 100% accurate and there are a small number of occasions when a false positive or false negative result is provided.