Urine tests detect high-risk HPV as effectively as DIY vaginal swabs

Urine tests seem to detect the strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) which are particularly associated with cervical cancer at the same level of precision as the vaginal swabs that people make themselves.

The cervical cancer screening has historically been carried out by a healthcare professional collecting cervical cell samples, either to test abnormal cells, or for the presence of APPS strains which are responsible for most cases, such as HPV 16 and 18.

In countries like the United States and Canada, people now have the possibility of using self-popular vaginal swabs, which do not need to touch the cervix. The United Kingdom is also heading for this approach. These escalations have been linked to increased absorption of screening, but are always invasive and can be uncomfortable for some.

Previous research suggests that HPV DNA can be detected in the urine. To better understand her screening potential, Julia Lynch at the International Institute of Vaccines in Seoul, South Korea, and her colleagues asked 753 sexually active women, aged 18 to 25, to collect a sample of urine at any time of the day and to make a vaginal stamp in a clinical setting in Bangladesh, Pakistan or Nepal.

The researchers found that the ability of the tests to detect seven high-risk HPV strains was very similar for the two types of samples, with 5.3% of positive self-collected hids for one or more of the seven strains, compared to 5% for the urine sample. For HPV 16 and 18, the results were almost identical, at 2.3% for escapes and 2.4% for the urine test.

Some urine samples also seemed preferred by some. “We work in countries with many different social contexts, and [a] The vaginal stamp was less acceptable for certain ages in certain countries, ”explains Lynch.

The World Health Organization has set itself the aim of eliminating cervical cancer in 2018, largely on the success of HPV vaccines. But he can take years in the effects of vaccination initiatives to be seen at the level of the population, so the absorption of screening is still necessary, explains Lynch.

There are several types of VPH vaccines, which all protect against strains 16 and 18. But the risk of HPV is generally based on data from North America and Europe, explains Lynch, so studies like this can also help to determine which strains circulate in other parts of the world to guide the decision-making of vaccines, she says.

The study included only young women, so that the results may not be generalizable to everyone, explains Beverly Green at the Permanent Kaiser Washington Health Research Institute. Lynch claims that the study was carried out as part of a larger project aimed at determining the prevalence of HPV among eight low -income countries in South and Africa Asia, and that other studies in this project will test samples of elderly women.