1943 slide 5/10 The "Pap" test - for early cancer detection - is developed and first used here by Dr. George Papanicolaou, who devoted his medical research almost entirely to the physiology of reproduction and exfoliative cytology. In a 1928 paper and 1943 monograph, he introduced his techniques for vaginal smears and detailed the use of the "Pap" smear to detect uterine cancer. The Pap test rapidly achieved wide acceptance as a means of cancer diagnosis. For decades, it was credited with having saved more women from cancer than any other medical advance.