Most abnormal cell changes are due to HPV. HPV is not included in any STI testing. A Pap test looks for abnormal cell changes that could cause cervical cancer. When abnormal cell changes are seen a second or co-testing for the DNA of high risk HPV types may be done. The HPV test only screens for high risk HPV types. Low risk HPV types can cause abnormal cell changes of the cervix but you HPV test would be negative.

Virtually all cervical cancers are due to a persistent progressive HPV infection. It usually takes 10 for abnormal cell changes to progress to cancer. Most HPV infections do not persist or progress.

Your doctor will recommend when you need to return for another Pap test. Your doctor may recommend a colposcopy if the cell changes were ASCUS. It is important for your doctor to tell you what your Pap reported. The most common reporting system for the Pap test in the US is the Bethesda reporting system.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detec...

"Low-risk" types of HPV

There are about 12 types of HPV that are called "low risk" because they cannot cause cervical cancer. They can, however, cause genital warts or very minor cell changes on the cervix. These low-risk types of HPV are known by the numbers 6, 11, 40, 42, 43, 44, 53, 54, 61, 72, 73 and 81. Types 6 and 11 – which are linked to about 90 percent of genital warts – are the most common.

"High-risk" types of HPV

There are more than a dozen types of "high-risk" HPV that can cause abnormal cells to form on the cervix. These abnormal cell changes may gradually develop into cervical cancer if not removed. The 13 types of high-risk HPV that are of most concern are known by the numbers 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 and 68.

http://www.thehpvtest.com/about-hpv/high-and-low-r...

A Pap test, or Pap smear, is part of a woman's routine physical exam. It is the best way to prevent cervical cancer, because it can find cells on your cervix that could turn into cancer. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina.

When your doctor says that your Pap test was "abnormal," it means that the test found some cells on your cervix that do not look normal. It does not mean that you have cancer. In fact, the chances that you have cancer are very small.

What causes an abnormal Pap test?

Most of the time, abnormal cell changes on the cervix are caused by certain types of human papillomavirus, or HPV

www.emedicine.com

It could mean nothing more than you have abnormally formed cells in your cervix, it could mean those abnormally formed cells have turned cancerous. If you know you have them your doctor would have taken a swab for analysis, wait to hear back.