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Extended HPV Genotyping to Compare HPV Type Distribution in Self- and Provider-Collected Samples for Cervical Cancer
Eliane Rohner1, Claire Edelman2, Busola Sanusi3
1Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Background:
Primary high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) testing of self-collected cervico-vaginal swabs could increase cervical cancer screening coverage, although triage strategies are needed to reduce unnecessary colposcopies. We evaluated the use of extended hr-HPV genotyping of self-collected samples for cervical cancer screening.
Methods:
We recruited women ages 25-65 years at two colposcopy clinics in North Carolina between November 2016 and January 2019, and obtained self-collected cervico-vaginal samples, provider-collected cervical samples, and cervical biopsies from all enrolled women. Self- and provider-collected samples were tested for 14 hr-HPV genotypes using the Onclarity Assay (Becton Dickinson). We calculated hr-HPV genotype-specific prevalence and assessed agreement between results in self- and provider-collected samples. We ranked the hr-HPV genotypes according to their positive predictive value (PPV) for the detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 2 or higher (CIN2+).
Results:
A total of 314 women participated (median age, 36 years); 85 women (27%) had CIN2+. More women tested positive for any hr-HPV on self-collected (76%) than on provider-collected samples (70%; P = 0.009) with type-specific agreement ranging from substantial to almost perfect. HPV-16 was the most common genotype in self-collected (27%) and provider-collected samples (20%), and HPV-16 prevalence was higher in self- than provider-collected samples (P < 0.001). In self- and provider-collected samples, HPV-16 had the highest PPV for CIN2+ detection.
Conclusions:
Overall sensitivity for CIN2+ detection was similar for both sample types, but the higher HPV-16 prevalence in self-collected samples could result in increased colposcopy referral rates.
Impact:
Additional molecular markers might be helpful to improve the triage of women who are hr-HPV positive on self-collected samples.
