HPV testing for two high-risk strains could identify women at greatest risk of cervical cancer
Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing for the two most dangerous strains (HPV16 and HPV18) detects more high-grade pre-cancerous lesions (which can lead to cervical cancer) than current cervical cancer screening using cytology alone.
The findings suggest that HPV testing should become the primary screening tool to rule out disease, with cytology reserved for triage of women who test positive for HPV, to decide which women need immediate colposcopy.
It is well established that HPV DNA testing is more effective than cytology-based primary cervical cancer screening, but the best strategy for managing women infected with HPV remains unclear. It is estimated that 27% of women in the USA are infected with HPV.
Read the whole article at ecancer.org
Reference
- Castle PE, Stoler MH, et al. Performance of carcinogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and HPV16 or HPV18 genotyping for cervical cancer screening of women aged 25 years and older: a subanalysis of the ATHENA study. Lancet Oncology 2011. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70188-7
Keywords: human papillomavirus, HPV testing, cervical screening
23. 8. 2011 ecancermedicalscience
