otherwise?

[Eway]

"Regular cervical smear tests are important for a woman's health because they are the best method of detecting pre-cancerous and early cancerous cells on the cervix. These types of cells cause no noticeable symptoms and otherwise would be able to develop undetected."

I'm confused by "otherwise" in this sentence. Shoudn't it be "These types of cells cause no noticeable symptoms and therefore would be able to develop undetected"?

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Eway

"Regular cervical smear tests are important for a woman's health because they are the best method of detecting pre-cancerous and early cancerous cells on the cervix. These types of cells cause no noticeable symptoms and otherwise would be able to develop undetected."

I'm confused by "otherwise" in this sentence. Shoudn't it be "These types of cells cause no noticeable symptoms and therefore would be able to develop undetected"?

"Otherwise" is better here. It means "under other circumstances", that is, without early detection by test.