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The following is a summary of “Improving cervical cancer screening participation by introducing HPV vaginal self-sampling to women living with HIV in Denmark– a pilot study,” published in the April 2025 issue of BMC Women’s Health by Svensgaard et al. 

Cervical cancer (CC), despite being largely preventable via vaccination and screening, continued to pose a significant global health challenge, and women living with HIV (WLWH) faced a 6-fold higher risk of developing it, primarily due to persistent infection with high-risk HPV (hrHPV), while despite the potential of effective screening methods to reduce this risk, WLWH remained inadequately screened.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the proportion of WLWH not screened according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, assess the acceptance of self-sampling, estimate hrHPV DNA prevalence, and determine follow-up compliance among women with hrHPV-positive vaginal self-samples.  

They performed the study from February to May 2022 at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Central Denmark Region. Eligible women were reached by phone and invited to participate. Participants received a self-sampling kit (Evalyn^® Brush) with detailed instructions. The collected samples were analyzed for hrHPV DNA using the COBAS^® 4,800 assay. Demographic, clinical, and screening history data were collected from medical records and the Danish Pathology Databank.  

The results showed that 50% (n = 50) of the 100 eligible women accepted self-sampling, with 80% (n = 40/50) returning their samples for analysis. The hrHPV prevalence was 25% (n = 10/40). Follow-up compliance among women who were hrHPV-positive was 40% (n = 4/10), 41% (n = 41/100) of women had not been screened according to WHO guidelines, with 39% (n = 16/41) never having been screened and no significant differences were found in demographic or clinical characteristics between participants and non-participants.  

Investigators concluded that vaginal hrHPV self-sampling was acceptable and feasible for WLWH, with high return rates but suboptimal follow-up compliance, highlighting that improving participation and adherence was crucial for effective CC prevention.

Source: bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-025-03740-0