The Chicago Tribune on Wednesday examined how some physicians think a new television advertisement by Gaithersburg, Md.-based biotechnology company Digene that urges women to request its test for human papillomavirus in addition to a Pap test might be misleading (Lauerman, Chicago Tribune, 11/9). Digene's DNA Pap test -- which combines the traditional Pap test with a DNA test for 13 strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that causes almost all cervical cancer cases -- received FDA approval in March 2003 as a primary screening tool for cervical cancer for women over age 30 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/23). The ad, currently airing in Chicago and Boston, features five women discussing their health. One woman asks, "If your Pap test is normal, you don't have to worry about cervical cancer, right?" After the other women agree, she says, "Wrong! The Pap test isn't enough; there's another test, an HPV test." Pam Rasmussen, Digene's vice president for corporate communications, said, "We need to get the word out that you increase your protection 100% if you have the HPV test at the same time" as a Pap test. Abbie Roth, an OB/GYN at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said that most gynecologists use a liquid-based Pap test that allows them to test for HPV without taking a second sample of cells. She added that labs will "reflexively" test for HPV if the results come back with a certain abnormality. Roth said that physicians who use an older Pap smear test must make a separate request for an HPV test. Roth also said she wished the ad mentioned that HPV is an STD, adding that many insurance companies do not cover STD testing (Chicago Tribune, 11/9).