HPV self-sampling for cervical cancer screening in China: A multi-center study

Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling is a new method for collecting cervical isolated cells, but research been carried out in multi-ethnic and multi-regional areas of China is scarce.

We aimed to evaluate the accuracy and acceptability of HPV self-sampling and analyze the characteristics of HPV infection.

Women aged 25-65 years were recruited from 8 provinces in China. Women underwent clinician-sampling and self-sampling and were asked to complete a 65-question questionnaire on their acceptance of HPV self-sampling. The paired samples were analyzed for 23 genotypes of HPV by polymerase chain reaction.

5551 women were recruited, of which 5417 were eligible for analysis. 3163 women have completed and submitted the questionnaire. The top five infection genotypes were HPV 52, 58, 16, 39, and 68. The highest infection rate was in the 25-30 years group. The crude agreement between self-sampling and clinician-sampling was 93.06 %. 43.79 % of women preferred self-sampling over clinician-sampling, and 67.59 % preferred doing self-sampling at the hospital.

HPV self-sampling could be an effective supplement to traditional cervical screening in China. Clinicians' advocacy, timely reminders and guidance for women with abnormal self-sampling results are needed. In addition, new vaccination and cervical screening recommendations might be adjusted to fit populations with different characteristics.