The goal of screening programs is to make a diagnosis before invasive cancer develops. The only gyneco­logical malignancy where cytological screening has proven its value is in cervical cancer, but as yet, there are no reliable, cost effective screening tests available for ovarian and endometrial cancers. An annual Pap smear test will not only allow for early detection of malignancies of the cervix, but will also give an opportunity to physicians to screen for breast lumps by palpation, for ovarian malignancies and pelvic abnormalities by bimanual and rectovaginal examinations, and for vulval neoplasm by careful inspection. The genital tract is one of the commonest situations of primary malignant disease in women. Such malignancies continue to be a major cause of mortality amongst women worldwide. The aim of screening is to detect the disease before symptoms occur, i.e. at the pre-invasive or more curable stage, when timely treatment can avert disability and mortality. The screening test is not intended to be diagnostic, but rather to differentiate the population likely or not likely to have the disease; the former will subsequently require further tests to confirm the diagnosis. A suitable screening test should have high specificity, sensitivity and positive predictive value and should not be costly.