Dr. Peter McKenna:

In very general terms, HPV testing will pick up more cases, but it will also pick up more negatives. That is why we cannot abandon cytology totally. If we did and just used the papilloma virus test, we would end up overtreating many women. The treatment is generally fairly innocuous, but it can on occasion result in infection and haemorrhage. If it is overzealous, there may be adverse outcomes in respect of future pregnancies. The idea that it is possible to pick up everything and that treatment is innocuous has to be weighed against the missing sum. I can talk about the over-disclosure element mentioned in a question.