<div><p>Days after controversy erupted over new breast cancer screening guidelines, a US health group has said women should wait longer to get their first cervical cancer test.</p><p>The New York Times reported Friday that the American College of Obstetricians is now advising women to wait until age 21 to get their first Pap smear.</p><p>The advice is intended to cut down on unnecessary testing and reduce the risk of harmful invasive procedures to remove non-cancerous lesions that may show up on tests but often disappear if left alone, the group said.</p><p>The new recommendations overturn previous guidance, which suggested women should be tested yearly starting within three years of their first sexual intercourse.</p><p>In addition to waiting longer for a first test, the group said women over 30 with three consecutive normal test results can wait for three years before their next Pap.</p><p>The advice is likely to stir fierce debate as it comes shortly after controversial new guidelines for breast cancer screening that said women should get fewer mammograms.</p><p>That advice was roundly rejected by many in the medical community and US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the recommendations would not be binding.</p><p>Cheryl Iglesia, the chairwoman of a panel that developed the cervical screening guidelines, told the Times that the timing was an unfortunate coincidence.</p><p>"There's no political agenda with regard to these recommendations," she said.</p><p>Her group has actually opposed cutting mammograms, but warns that overuse of Pap tests can result in doctors performing unneccesary and potentially harmful surgeries to remove non-cancerous cervical abnormalities that are commonly found in young women.</p><p>The two sets of guidelines have stirred an added level of controversy coming as they do while President Barack Obama's administration is attempting to push through health care reform.</p><p>Republicans have argued that such recommendations would become mandatory if Obama's reform efforts pass, a charge roundly rejected by Democrats.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=63852041&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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