The fourth most common cancer amongst women across the globe in terms of the number of new cases and deaths is cervical cancer after breast, colorectal and lung. There are two ways of avoiding cervical cancer - primary prevention and secondary prevention. Primary prevention prevents precancers in the first place using HPV vaccination. Secondary prevention detects precancerous lesions by screening and treating them before they turn into cancer. Three most commonly practised approaches exist to screen for cervical cancer, each designed for a particular socio-economic stratum viz VIA, cytology/Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test and HPV DNA testing. For the general population of women, WHO’s recent 2021 guidelines now recommend screening with HPV DNA as the primary test starting at age 30 at intervals of five to ten years instead of Pap Smear or VIA . HPV DNA testing has higher sensitivity (90 to 100%) compared to pap cytology and VIA. It is also more cost-effective than visual inspection techniques or cytology and suitable for all settings.
Self-sampling is another option that is suggested by WHO. especially for underscreened women. The benefits of screening using self-collected HPV testing include increased convenience and reductions of barriers for women. Where HPV tests are available as part of the national programme, the choice to be able to self-sample may encourage women to access screening and treatment services and also improve screening coverage.Self-sampling can help reach the global target of 70% coverage of screening by2030. Women may feel more comfortable taking their own samples, rather thangoing to see a health worker for cervical cancer screening.
