CIDRAP-About one-third of US women in their 20s have never been screened for cervical cancer

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About one-third of US women in their 20s have never been screened for cervical cancer

www.cidrap.umn.edu

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About one-third of US women in their 20s have never been screened for cervical cancer​

Meghan Holohan

August 31, 2026
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)


Nearly one-third of US women in their 20s have never been screened for cervical cancer—a starling decrease, per a paper published last week in JAMA Network Open.

“A lot of times national surveys look at the up-to-date rate, meaning how many women are up to date on their screening,” said lead author Kalyani Sonawane, PhD, of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), in a university press release. “But this paper is slightly different because it measures the proportion of women who reported that in their lifetime, they've never received screening.”

5% annual increase in skipped screenings​

The researchers examined data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) nine times from 2005 to 2023, focusing on the cervical cancer screening questions for women ages 21 to 29 and 30 to 65.

Over this period, the rate of women who had never undergone cervical cancer screening when they were aged 21 to 29 increased from 12.5% (3.5 million) to 31.9% (6.2 million).

Among the older age-group, the percentage of women who had never been screened for cervical cancer also climbed, going from 5.3% (4.3 million) to 14.8% (9.2 million). This represents a 5% annual increase in women who skipped routine cervical cancer monitoring.

Identifying women who have never been screened for cervical cancer is critical because this group captures the population entirely missed by preventive care, revealing the deepest shortcomings in reach.

Early detection allows doctors to find and treat abnormal cells before they turn into cervical cancer or while cancer is still in its early stages, when it is easier to treat.

“Identifying women who have never been screened for cervical cancer is critical because this group captures the population entirely missed by preventive care, revealing the deepest shortcomings in reach,” wrote the authors from the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.

“This is especially important for the newly eligible group aged 21 to 29 years, for whom early engagement with screening sets the trajectory for lifelong screening behavior, whereas identifying never-screened women aged 30 to 65 years reveals missed prevention opportunities during the years of highest cervical cancer risk,” they added.

HPV vaccination rates also lower​

Sonawane suspects that some women who received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine mistakenly believe that they no longer need regular cancer screening. Most guidelines recommend that even those who received an HPV vaccine undergo cervical cancer screening.

The vaccine protects women from nine high-risk strains of HPV, which causes most cervical cancers. Based on 2019 NHIS data, 8 million women (45.5%) ages 21 to 29 did not receive the HPV vaccine. “Almost one-third of these women have also never been screened, highlighting substantial missed opportunities for both primary and secondary prevention,” the authors wrote.