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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 Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (LSIL)?

LSIL is the second most common abnormal Pap test result and is found in about 2-3% of all Pap tests. Because the vast majority of women with LSIL are infected with HPV, testing for HPV is not necessary or helpful. Although all women with LSIL should have a colposcopy, only about a quarter of them have a true precancer. Most of the rest have a simple HPV infection that will go away by itself with time. The purpose of colposcopy is to find which of the women have a true precancer so that they can be treated. Women with a simple HPV infection should not be treated because, in time, the infection will most likely go away by itself. This makes the benefits of treatment minimal and the potential risks to treatment and unnecessary.