Women with HIV can now add to their Pap smears another crucial early warning system for cervical cancer. The FDA has approved a test—Digene’s Hybrid Capture II—to spot all 13 forms of the humanpapilloma virus (HPV) that is associated with this cancer. HPV’s presence makes HIVers four to five times more likely than HIV negative women to develop dysplasia—the cell abnormality that precedes cervical cancer. Using the Hybrid Capture II test to identify who is infected with a cancer-promoting strain of virus could prompt closer screening for dysplasia and earlier treatment—and help prevent full-blown cancer.