CHICAGO -- A researcher says nearly 10 million women a year "are being screened for a cancer in an organ they don't have."

A study published in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that doctors routinely perform unneeded Pap tests on women who have had hysterectomies.

Pap tests, or Pap smears, are used to detect cancer of the cervix. In most hysterectomies, the cervix is removed along with the uterus.

Researchers at Veterans Affairs Outcomes Group in White River Junction, Vt., and Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H., analyzed data on 187,670 women who reported having a hysterectomy and answered questions about the timing of their last Pap smear. They found that 46 percent of such women were still getting Pap tests in 2002. That translates into about 10 million women in the general population.

Dr. Brenda Sirovich, the study's lead researcher, said she "was quite surprised" by the findings. She said the tests aren't that expensive, but they are uncomfortable. She also said they distract doctors from more important matters and take time away from lab specialists.

Researchers said several factors may be playing in to the unnecessary tests.

"It is possible that women who have had a total hysterectomy are not aware that they are no longer at risk for cervical cancer," they wrote. "Or they may simply be so enthusiastic about cancer screening that they continue to have Pap smears regardless of the usefulness of the test."

Or, they said, doctors could be behind the continual cervical cancer screening.

Doctors advise most women with intact wombs to have Pap tests yearly.

All About Pap Smears

Additional Resources:

Study Abstract
Cervical Cancer Screening Recommendations