Deintensification of cervical cancer screening in the era of high human papillomavirus–vaccination coverage

As vaccination coverage expands, the epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and related disease is shifting. The declining prevalence of infections by the most high-risk HPV types, for example, HPV16 and HPV18, reduces the positive predictive value of screening tests for cervical precancer and cancer and challenges the balance between benefits and harms of current standard-of-care screening intervals. This evolving context raises an important policy question: Can and should cervical cancer screening eventually be reduced or even stopped in fully HPV-vaccinated populations?