Education efforts may contribute to wider acceptance of human papillomavirus self-sampling.

BACKGROUND: Information about women's acceptance of new screening methods in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited. The aim of this study was to report on women's acceptance of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling following an educational intervention on cervical cancer and HPV. METHODS: Women were recruited from the city of Tiko and a low-income neighborhood of Yaoundé, both in Cameroon. Written and oral instructions about how to perform an unsupervised HPV self-sample were given to participants, who performed the test in a private room. Acceptability of HPV self-sampling was evaluated by questionnaire. Participants previously screened for cervical cancer by a physician were asked additional questions to assess their personal preferences about HPV self-sampling. RESULTS: A sample of 540 women were prospectively enrolled in the study; median age was 43 years old (range 30-65 years). Participants expressed a high level of acceptance of HPV self-sampling as a screening method following information sessions about cervical cancer and HPV. Most expressed no embarrassment, pain, anxiety, or discomfort (95.6%, 87.8%, 91.3%, and 85.0%, respectively) during the information sessions. Acceptance of the method had no correlation with education, knowledge, age, or socio-professional class. Eighty-six women (16%) had a history of previous screening; they also reported high acceptance of HPV self-sampling. CONCLUSION: Educational interventions on cancer and HPV were associated with high acceptability of HPV self-testing by Cameroonian women. Further evaluation of the intervention in a larger sample and using a control group is recommended.

Acceptability of self-collected vaginal samples for HPV testing in an urban and rural population of Madagascar.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acceptability of self-collected vaginal samples for HPV testing in women living in rural and urban areas of Madagascar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were recruited in a health care center (urban group) and smaller affiliated dispensaries (rural group). They were invited to perform unsupervised self-sampling for HPV testing and to answer a questionnaire on socio-demographic information, cervical cancer knowledge and self-sampling acceptability. RESULTS: A total of 300 women were recruited. Median age was 44.1 years (range 29-65 years) in the urban group and 40.9 years (range 29-65 years) in the rural group. Urban women had improved knowledge on HPV, cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening (p<0.05) as compared to rural women. Urban women lived closer to a health care center (P<0.05), had fewer different sexual partners (P<0.05) and later first sexual intercourse (p=0.07). Unlike urban women, most rural women were married (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acceptability of self-sampling for HPV testing was similarly excellent in both groups despite their difference in terms of socio-demographic factors and knowledge about cervical cancer.

Effectiveness of a two-stage strategy with HPV testing followed by visual inspection with acetic acid for cervical cancer screening in a low-income setting.

The World Health Organization recently advocated a two-stage strategy with human papillomavirus (HPV) testing followed by visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) as a suitable option for cervical cancer screening. However, its accuracy has never been directly assessed in the context of primary screening. To evaluate effectiveness of HPV testing on self-obtained specimens (self-HPV) followed by VIA (sequential testing) in a low-income setting, we recruited 540 women aged between 30 and 65 years in two Cameroonian periurban areas. Eligible women were counseled about cervical cancer and how to perform self-sampling. HPV positive and a random sample of HPV-negative women were called back for VIA and biopsy. Disease was defined by interpretation of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia Grade 2 or worse (CIN2+). Performances of VIA, self-HPV and sequential testing were determined after adjustment for verification bias. HPV prevalence was 27.0%. VIA positivity was 12.9% and disease prevalence was 5%. Sensitivity and specificity of VIA for CIN2+ were 36.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 15.2-64.6%] and 90.4% (95% CI: 85.4-93.7%), respectively. Sensitivity of self-HPV [100.0% (95% CI: 79.6-100.0%)] was 66% higher than that of sequential testing [33.3% (95% CI: 15.2-58.3%)]. Meanwhile, specificity of self-HPV [74.5% (95% CI: 70.6-78.1%)] was 22% lower than that of sequential testing [96.7% (95% CI: 94.8-97.9%)]. A two-stage screening strategy with self-HPV followed by VIA improves specificity of cervical cancer screening, but at the cost of an important loss of sensitivity. Ways to improve VIA performance or other tools are needed to increase positive predictive value of HPV testing.

Impact of an educational intervention on women's knowledge and acceptability of human papillomavirus self-sampling: a randomized controlled trial in Cameroon.

OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling (Self-HPV) may be used as a primary cervical cancer screening method in a low resource setting. Our aim was to evaluate whether an educational intervention would improve women's knowledge and confidence in the Self-HPV method. METHOD: Women aged between 25 and 65 years old, eligible for cervical cancer screening, were randomly chosen to receive standard information (control group) or standard information followed by educational intervention (interventional group). Standard information included explanations about what the test detects (HPV), the link between HPV and cervical cancer and how to perform HPV self-sampling. The educational intervention consisted of a culturally tailored video about HPV, cervical cancer, Self-HPV and its relevancy as a screening test. All participants completed a questionnaire that assessed sociodemographic data, women's knowledge about cervical cancer and acceptability of Self-HPV. RESULTS: A total of 302 women were enrolled in 4 health care centers in Yaoundé and the surrounding countryside. 301 women (149 in the "control group" and 152 in the "intervention group") completed the full process and were included into the analysis. Participants who received the educational intervention had a significantly higher knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer than the control group (p<0.05), but no significant difference on Self-HPV acceptability and confidence in the method was noticed between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Educational intervention promotes an increase in knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer. Further investigation should be conducted to determine if this intervention can be sustained beyond the short term and influences screening behavior. TRIALS REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) Register ISRCTN78123709.

HPV self-sampling as primary screening test in sub-Saharan Africa: implication for a triaging strategy.

Our objective was (i) to assess if a self-collected test for human papillomavirus (HPV) may serve as a primary cervical cancer screening method in a low-resource setting, (ii) to evaluate its implication in a screen and treat approach and (iii) to identify the most eligible age group in a screening program. Women were recruited through a cervical cancer screening campaign conducted in Cameroon. Written and oral instructions were given to participants by a health-care professional to carry out an unsupervised self-collected HPV-test (Self-HPV), followed by a physician-collected cervical sample for HPV testing (Physician-HPV) and cytology. Differences in performance between Self-HPV versus Physician-HPV and their ability to detect abnormal cytology results (ASC-US+) were evaluated. Descriptive analyses were used to examine the correlation between HPV positivity and cervical abnormalities by age. A sample of 789 women was prospectively enrolled. HPV prevalence was 14.6% and 12.7% for Self-HPV and Physician-HPV, respectively (Cohen's kappa = 0.74). HPV positivity by cytological diagnosis for ASC-US+ was similar with the two tests. positive predictive value of the Self-HPV for ASC-US+ was 20.4; odds ratio and number needed to treat were 6.5 (3.2-13.4) and 6 (4.2-10.9), respectively. We observed a trend of increasing cytological abnormalities in 30-49 year-old women and a concomitant trend of decreasing HPV prevalence supporting that this age group might be the most eligible group for screening. In conclusion, Self-HPV can be used as a primary screening test but needs to be followed by a triaging test that would identify the subset of women affected by clinically significant precancer or cancer.

Randomized comparison of vaginal self-sampling by standard vs. dry swabs for human papillomavirus testing.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate if human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling (Self-HPV) using a dry vaginal swab is a valid alternative for HPV testing. METHODS: Women attending colposcopy clinic were recruited to collect two consecutive Self-HPV samples: a Self-HPV using a dry swab (S-DRY) and a Self-HPV using a standard wet transport medium (S-WET). These samples were analyzed for HPV using real time PCR (Roche Cobas). Participants were randomized to determine the order of the tests. Questionnaires assessing preferences and acceptability for both tests were conducted. Subsequently, women were invited for colposcopic examination; a physician collected a cervical sample (physician-sampling) with a broom-type device and placed it into a liquid-based cytology medium. Specimens were then processed for the production of cytology slides and a Hybrid Capture HPV DNA test (Qiagen) was performed from the residual liquid. Biopsies were performed if indicated. Unweighted kappa statistics (к) and McNemar tests were used to measure the agreement among the sampling methods. RESULTS: A total of 120 women were randomized. Overall HPV prevalence was 68.7% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 59.3-77.2) by S-WET, 54.4% (95% CI 44.8-63.9) by S-DRY and 53.8% (95% CI 43.8-63.7) by HC. Among paired samples (S-WET and S-DRY), the overall agreement was good (85.7%; 95% CI 77.8-91.6) and the κ was substantial (0.70; 95% CI 0.57-0.70). The proportion of positive type-specific HPV agreement was also good (77.3%; 95% CI 68.2-84.9). No differences in sensitivity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade one (CIN1) or worse between the two Self-HPV tests were observed. Women reported the two Self-HPV tests as highly acceptable. CONCLUSION: Self-HPV using dry swab transfer does not appear to compromise specimen integrity. Further study in a large screening population is needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01316120.

[Cervical cancer screening in Switzerland - current practice and future challenges]. / Gebärmutterhalskrebs-Screening in der Schweiz - aktueller Stand und neue Herausforderungen.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, cervical cancer was the leading cause of death from cancer in women. A marked decline in cervical cancer has been observed since the 1960s, in parallel with the introduction of the Papanicolau (Pap) test as a cytological screening method. Today, Pap smear screening is still the most widely used tool for cervical cancer prevention. Testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical specimens or a combination of Pap and HPV testing are also now available. In this article we compare current guidelines for cervical cancer screening in Switzerland with those in other European countries. In view of the opportunities offered by HPV testing and, since 2008, HPV vaccination, current guidelines for cervical cancer screening should be updated. Both the choice of screening tests and general organization of cervical cancer screening should be reviewed.

Human papillomavirus self-sampling in Cameroon: women's uncertainties over the reliability of the method are barriers to acceptance.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess acceptability and preference for self-collected human papillomavirus tests (self-HPV) compared with traditional physician-sampled Pap tests (physician sampling) in a low-resource country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women were recruited through a cervical cancer screening campaign conducted in Cameroon. Written and oral instructions were given to carry out an unsupervised self-HPV, followed by a physician-collected cervical sample for HPV testing and cytology. Subsequently the women were asked to answer a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 243 women were prospectively enrolled in this study. Median age of participants was 39 years (range = 25-65 years). Acceptability score was higher for self-HPV (p < .001) compared with physician sampling. Preference was lower for self-HPV than physician sampling (29% vs 62%; p < .001). Most participants thought that physician sampling was more reliable than self-HPV (59% vs 1%; p < .001). Women who preferred physician sampling were significantly more likely to have low knowledge about cervical cancer and a low educational level. CONCLUSIONS: Although most of the women were more comfortable and less embarrassed with the self-HPV, they did not trust the method and did prefer physician sampling. The study underlines the need not only to educate women about HPV, cervical cancer, and its prevention but also to reassure them about the accuracy of self-HPV.

[Cervical cancer prevention in Switzerland: the challenges of the vaccine era]. / Prévention du cancer du col utérin en Suisse: les défis de l'ere vaccinale.

In Switzerland, cervical cancer screening has been introduced in the 60s and has allowed a significant reduction in the incidence and mortality of this disease. More recently, the HPV vaccine was introduced with public target of girls aged 11 to 14 years. Gradually, this vaccinated population will reach the age of screening. Vaccinated population will present less HPV infection and less cytological abnormalities and consequence will conduct to a lower performance of cytology. In this context, the HPV test with its objectivity will become the most suitable means for cervical cancer screening. The aim of this paper was to conduct a synthesis of current knowledge about primary and secondary prevention of cervical cancer and define the best options for the future.