Urinary HPV DNA testing as a tool for cervical cancer screening in women who are reluctant to have a Pap smear in France

Abstract

Objectives: In France, cervical cancer screening is based on human papillomavirus (HPV) testing on cervical samples (women aged 30-65) and cytological examination of Pap smears (25-29), but screening coverage is unsatisfactory. The CapU3 study aimed to propose urinary HPV testing on 13,535 women aged 35 to 65 who had not had a Pap smear since 2010.

Methods: High-risk HPV (HR-HPV) detection was performed using a real-time PCR (Anyplex II HPV 28 Detection, Seegene®). Women with HR-HPV positive results were encouraged to have a cervical smear as soon as possible to detect the presence of cervical lesions.

Results: The participation rate was 15.4%. Out of the 1,915 analyzed specimens, 1,711 and 190 were negative and positive, respectively, for at least 1 HR-HPV genotype. HR-HPV genotypes other than HPV-16 or HPV-18 were mostly detected as HPV-53 (23.7%) and HPV-68 (14.2%). A satisfactory gynecological follow-up was observed for HPV-positive women (92.1%). 23 abnormal smears were observed and eight high-grade cytological lesions after colposcopy and biopsy were diagnosed.

Conclusions: As home HPV urinary testing is non-invasive and does not require medical attention, this method may be an alternative for women who are reluctant to have a Pap smear and thus extend screening coverage.

Keywords: Cervical cancer screening; HPV DNA detection; High-risk human papillomavirus; Self-sampling; Urine.