Alberta is transitioning to a new cervical cancer screening test. This is called the cervical screening test. Starting in November 2025, women and people with a cervix aged 50 to 69 years will be screened by their healthcare provider with the cervical screening test instead of the Pap test. The cervical screening test looks for high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that spreads through sexual contact.

Most people will have an HPV infection at some point in their life and never know it. There are usually no symptoms. Most HPV infections don’t cause any problems and are cleared by your body within 2 years. But sometimes, certain HPV types don’t clear on their own and can cause cells on your cervix to become abnormal. These abnormal cells may become cancer cells over time.

Your healthcare provider will collect a sample from you in the same way they did for a Pap test. Your sample will be sent to the lab to test for high-risk types of HPV. Pap test looks for abnormal cell changes while the cervical screening test looks for high-risk HPV.

Women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 49 will be eligible for the cervical screening test in the future.

• Women and people with a cervix
• Aged 50 to 69
• Due for cervical cancer screening
• Have a valid Alberta Health Care number
• Have had sexual contact with another person of any gender, at any time

You should still get screened for cervical cancer even if:

• You have had the HPV vaccine.
• You feel healthy
• You have been through menopause
• You have no family history of cervical cancer
• You have had sexual contact with only 1 person
• You have had the same sexual partner for a long time
• You have not had sexual contact in a long time or are no longer sexually active
• You are in a same-sex relationship.

As with any other test, there are both benefits and risks; you might think of these as pros and cons. It’s important to be aware of them before having any test so that you can make an informed decision. While no screening test is 100% accurate, scientific evidence shows that getting screened regularly lowers the risk of dying from cervical cancer.

Learning that high-risk HPV was found may cause many feelings and raise a number of questions. It’s important to know that having HPV does not mean that you have or will develop cervical cancer.

Benefits of cervix screening test

• It’s simple, painless and very accurate
• It can help identify those who are more likely to develop abnormal cell changes caused by high-risk HPV
• When abnormal cell changes are found early, the cells can be treated so that cervical cancer doesn’t develop.

Risks of cervical screening test

The cervical screening test is very safe, however, there are some risks.

• Abnormal results may lead to stress and the need for follow-up tests
• There’s a chance the test could miss HPV, even if you have pre-cancerous cells or cervical cancer (false negative)
• There’s a chance the test could say HPV is present even when it is not (false positive).

A cervical screening test only takes a few minutes and is done in your healthcare provider’s office or at a women’s health clinic. Your healthcare provider will collect a sample from you in the same way they did for a Pap test. A doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse or midwife will use a small, soft brush to take cells from the cervix so the lab can test the cells for types of HPV and cell changes. The person doing your test can try to make the test as comfortable as possible for you.