I'm in at least two high risk groups in terms of those people who are most likely to get cervical cancer, and recently I've received an ASCUS pap with high risk HPV diagnosis. I'm scheduled to follow up with the colposcopy next.

The statistics vary from staggeringly scary (many cases of cancer are originally diagnosed as ASCUS), to somewhat reassuring (most of the time it's not cancer).

It seems that between 2-3 million women receive some sort of abnormal diagnosis every year. I guess I'm looking for a little perspective here. How common is ASCUS/high risk? I know people tend to say that most ASCUS resolves on its own, but does that take into account the high risk HPV diagnosis as well? I'm wondering how often high risk HPV with ASCUS clears.

Hi and thanks for posting.

ASC-US Pap results, sometimes referred to as a borderline Pap, means that some abnormal cells were detected on the Pap but it isn't clear what might be causing them or how severe the abnormality might be. About 60% of women with ASC-US results are actually HPV-negative and don't have any abnormalities to be concerned with. Of the other 40%, most would be HPV-positive on an HPV test and about half would have some sort of cell changes related to HPV. Very few are dangerous, though, with maybe 1 in 1,000 or so having cancer and only about 5% have even significant pre-cancers (which are usually very manageable). Most cell changes found with these women are of the mild/minimal variety. As with most HPV infections, the majority of those associated with ASC-US Paps won't become cancer and will clear eventually, especially in younger women.

If you don't mind, keep in touch and let us know how things are going with you.

Best,
Fredo

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ASHA Moderator

Thanks for your reply, Fredo. I will certainly let you know how things turn out. I deeply appreciate the service that this board provides.