Move Over, Pap Smears: There’s a New Test for HPV (No Speculum or Stirrups Required)
Instead of a traditional Pap smear, complete with speculum and stirrups, self-collection HPV tests will be an option for patients soon. Two biotechnology companies—Roche and BD—have started rolling out HPV testing kits for patients to collect their own vaginal samples to screen for cervical cancer, instead of a doctor.
Here’s a look at the testing kits that could change up your next routine gyno exam.
Back up: How has HPV historically been tested for?
Human papillomavirus, commonly known as “HPV” is a viral infection that spreads through sex and other skin-to-skin contact. In many cases, infections tend to be mild and clear up on their own, but serious infections can cause warts and even certain cancers, like cervical cancer, per the Mayo Clinic.
People with cervixes start getting screened for cervical cancer when they turn 21, usually via a Pap smear. And the CDC suggests having a Pap done every three years until you're 29. For those ages 30 to 65, the recommendation is to get tested every three to five years, but it depends on your doctor's assessment.
A Pap smear is a fairly quick procedure to collect cervical cell samples that are then tested for abnormalities or cancer. It’s an intimate and often uncomfortable process that involves the patient lying back with their legs open, and having an instrument called a speculum inserted into the vagina to hold it open. The provider then scrapes the cervix with a swab to collect cells for testing. It’s fast, but it's also sometimes painful and almost always unpleasant.
John Vullo, DO, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Catholic Health’s Good Samaritan University Hospital on Long Island and associate chair of Catholic Health Women’s Health Services, hopes that these new self-swab kits could make the cervical cancer screening process less intimidating and even more accessible.
“If we can increase screening, we can reduce the incidence of this cancer,” he tells CNN. “Having another modality or choice to make screening more accessible and available is important especially for our underinsured and underserved populations. Self-screening offers this extra choice for women.”
Okay, so how does this self-swab technology work?
The self-collection HPV screening kit works similarly to how patients collect their own urine samples, but these kits have to be used at a doctor’s office (at least for now).
A doctor first has to order the test for their patient, then a lab creates a kit that includes detailed instructions, a six-inch swab, and a screening test, per CNN. At their appointment, the patient is given the self-swab kit and instructed to collect their own vaginal sample by inserting the swab three inches into their vagina. From there, the doctor’s office ships the sample to a lab for testing and follows up with the results. No awkward interactions or metal speculum required.
This self-collection option is becoming available in doctors offices and health clinics, but an at-home version is also in the works and on the horizon. According to the FDA, another biotech company—Teal Health—has created an at-home cervical cancer screening device that’s still being reviewed.
The best way to prevent cervical cancer is to get vaccinated against HPV, avoid smoking, and have protected sex, per the CDC. You should also get regular screenings (per your doctor’s orders), and if test results come back abnormal, follow up with your doctor about next steps.
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