HPV is the cause of most cervical cancer. The relatively new vaccine against it hopes to deliver some immunity (for how long? –  there are stories yet to be told). The problem is that it is very hard to tell who will not naturally clear HPV infection by themselves – most women do. This article commissioned by the BMJ examines a new self-test kit which offers to do a cervical smear as often as you want and when you want it. My issue is that screening always comes with potential harms, and that these haven’t been adequately accounted for within this test: and that it is going to end up creating an awful lot of dilemmas with potentially little gain.