Doctors have suggested that women should take the Pap test every three

Question

Doctors have suggested that women should take the Pap test every three years to screen for cervical cancer. Since the Pap test is meant to detect abnormalities that may lead to invasive cervical cancer, these abnormalities can be treated before cancer develops. Most invasive cancers of the cervix can be prevented if women have Pap tests regularly.

The answer to which of the following questions would be most important in determining whether implementing the suggestion is likely to achieve the desired result?

(A) What percent of women in whom abnormalities are detected actually get invasive cancer of the cervix?

(B) What is the time lag between appearance of abnormalities and subsequent development of cervical cancer?

(C) Do the insurance companies cover the cost of Pap test?

(D) Are the causes of development of abnormalities identified?

(E) Do we have treatment for the abnormalities so that cancer does not develop?

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MalachiKeti · Answer

@Scottargettestprep @KarishmaB

MartyMurray · Answer

This question is busted.

Choice (B) is a viable answer, but (E) is as well. In fact, (E) is the better answer of the two.

So, this question has two viable correct answers, and the credited answer is not the best one.

tgsankar10 · Answer

Hi  MartyMurray

Since the argument says  "   these abnormalities can be treated before cancer develops" , we already know that there are some kind of treatments available for these abnormalities so that cancer does not develop, which makes the question E redundant.

So in this case, can we reason that Question  B  will be more important than Question  E  to evaluate the validity of the argument?

MartyMurray · Answer

The argument says, " Since the Pap test is meant to detect abnormalities that may lead to invasive cervical cancer, these abnormalities can be treated before cancer develops."

That statement means only that there is an opportunity to treat the abnormalities, not that there are effective treatment methods. So, (E) isn't really redundant.

After all, the fact that the abnormalities "can be treated" does not mean that "we have" treatments such that "cancer does not develop."

So, (E) presents a key question.

MBAclub · Answer

Answer is  B  and  not E  ,

Why B)  to understand this we need to circle back to the plan , which was women should take PAP test every 3 years .

But what if the abnormalities convert to cancer within 6 months , the plan fails .

Why not E)  This is part of the premise ,(such that when abnormalities are treated in advance it prevents cancer) , hence to question this is irrelevant.

A_Nishith · Answer

Breakdown of the Argument:
 Premise:  Pap tests detect abnormalities that may lead to cervical cancer, and treating these abnormalities can prevent cancer from developing.
 Conclusion:  Regular Pap tests can prevent most invasive cervical cancers.

The key to preventing cervical cancer in this context is identifying and treating abnormalities before they develop into cancer. The most important question will focus on whether treating these abnormalities can prevent cancer development.

Now, let's evaluate the answer choices:
(A) What percent of women in whom abnormalities are detected actually get invasive cancer of the cervix?
This would tell us how likely it is for abnormalities to lead to cancer, but it's not the most important question in determining whether the suggestion will work. The focus is on prevention by treating abnormalities before they become cancerous, not just the probability of cancer developing.

(B) What is the time lag between appearance of abnormalities and subsequent development of cervical cancer?
This would be useful in determining how early the abnormalities need to be detected, but it doesn't address whether the abnormalities can be treated effectively to prevent cancer.

(C) Do the insurance companies cover the cost of Pap tests?
Insurance coverage is relevant to whether people can afford the test but not directly related to whether Pap tests will achieve the desired result of preventing cancer.

(D) Are the causes of development of abnormalities identified?
Knowing the causes might be useful for prevention, but the suggestion is focused on screening for and treating existing abnormalities. This question doesn't address whether treatment of abnormalities can prevent cancer.

(E) Do we have treatment for the abnormalities so that cancer does not develop?
Correct.  This question is critical because the entire rationale for the Pap test is based on treating abnormalities before they become cancerous. If no treatment exists, the Pap test won't achieve the desired outcome of preventing cancer.
 
 Answer: (E)  Do we have treatment for the abnormalities so that cancer does not develop?

nadateztaker077 · Answer

Why not A? If we discover that only .0001% of women with abnormalities develop cervical cancer than that would make the recommendation questionable.

B was the more obvious answer since it tied to the time window portion of the premise, but A seemed much more logical.

Bunuel · Answer

Official solution from Veritas Prep.

Correct answer: (B)
 
For the suggestion to be effective, the time between abnormalities to appear and cancer to develop should be long enough. The reason is that in most cases, when abnormalities appear, they should be detected by the once-in-3-years Pap test before cancer develops. If cancer develops quickly after abnormalities appear, the Pap test, which needs to be taken every 3 years according to the suggestion, may not be effective in preventing cancer in most cases.

(A) Incorrect. It doesn’t matter what percent of women actually get cancer. If most abnormalities are detected, they will be treated so that none of them get the cancer.

(C) Incorrect. Whether insurance companies cover the cost is irrelevant since we do not know what the cost of the procedure is. If it is very small, most women will anyway be able to get the test even if it is not covered by the insurance.

(D) Incorrect. Causes of abnormalities are irrelevant to the argument.

(E) Incorrect. The argument mentions that these abnormalities can be treated before cancer develops and hence the answer to this question is already there in the argument.

ahddhah · Answer

Absolutely, I agree and the problem with such questions is it makes people change their mental model of solving CR question which can jeopradize their final score in exam.

terminatork07 · Answer

+1, Premise - Abnormalities may lead to cancer. Conclusion -  Most invasive cancers of the cervix can be prevented if women have Pap tests regularly.

Let's take Option B to two extremeties  
 There's significant/minimal time lag between appearance of abnormalities and subsequent development of cervical cancer - We don't know what time-lag is appropriate to prevent cancer. Maybe it spready really fast, or really slowly. In either we can conclusively strengthen/weaken the conlusion. Hence we can eliminate B. Answer is E.

Doctors have suggested that women should take the Pap test every three

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Doctors have suggested that women should take the Pap test every three

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