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Making sense of your Pap &
HPV Test Result FAQs

Q. When my Pap test is not normal that mean I have cancer or a precancerous condition?Q. What are the common terms used to describe simple infections with HPV and why do they need colposcopy?Q. What does it mean when my Pap test saysAtypical Squamous CellsUndetermined Significance (ASCUS)?Q. What should I do if my Pap test is ASCUS and my HPV test is negative?Q. What should I do if my Pap test is ASCUS and my HPV test is positive?Q. What should I do if my Pap test is LSIL?Q. What does it mean when my Pap test saysAtypical Squamous Cells: Cannot Exclude High-Grade SIL (ASC-H)?Q. What does it mean when my Pap test saysHigh-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (HSIL)?Q. What does it mean when my Pap test saysAtypical Glandular Cells?Q. What does it mean when my Pap test is negative but my HPV test is positive?Q. What should I do if my Pap test is negative but my HPV test is positive?

What should I do if my Pap test is ASC-US and my HPV test is positive?

When the Pap test is ASC-US and the HPV test is positive, about a quarter of women have a true precancer. The rest have a simple HPV infection that will go away by itself with time. Women with HPV-positive ASC-US should have a colposcopy. The purpose of colposcopy is to find out who has a true precancer so that they can be treated. Women with a simple HPV infection should not be treated because of the potential risks to treatment and because, in time, the infection will most likely go away by itself.