Effectiveness and feasibility of self-sampling for human papillomavirus testing for internet-based cervical cancer screening

• Published in: Frontiers in public health Vol. 10; p. 938272
• Main Authors: Li, Jingran, Wu, Ruifang, Qu, Xinfeng, Huang, Xia, Li, Ling, Lin, Zhixin, Zhang, Zhijun, Deng, Jihong, Liu, Rong, Zhao, Xiaofeng, Zhang, Songling, Lin, Bei, An, Ruifang, Zhao, Chao, Li, Mingzhu, Zhao, Yun, Wei, Lihui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 07.11.2022
• Subjects: Alphapapillomavirus; cervical cancer screening; Early Detection of Cancer; Feasibility Studies; Female; human papillomavirus; Humans; Internet; internet-based; Male; Papillomaviridae; Papillomavirus Infections - diagnosis; Papillomavirus Infections - epidemiology; Public Health; Reproducibility of Results; screening coverage; Self Care; self-sampling; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - diagnosis; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - prevention & control; Vaginal Smears; self-sampling; cervical cancer screening; screening coverage; human papillomavirus; internet-based
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.938272

Worldwide, around 18.2% of cervical cancer occurred in China, mainly because of lower screening coverage and screening quality in regional disparities. To assess self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, combined with the internet, as a primary cervical cancer screening (CCS) method in low-resource settings, and to establish an internet-based self-sampling CCS-management model. The women who participated registered on a CCS website. We recruited 20,136 women, aged 30-59 years, from 13 provinces in China, to perform vaginal self-sampling for HPV testing as a primary CCS, based on the internet. A questionnaire was subsequently used to investigate the acceptability of self-sampling. Of the 20,103 women with qualified samples, 35.80% lived in remote areas, 37.69% had never undergone CCS, 59.96% were under-screened, and the overall prevalence of a high-risk of HPV was 13.86%. Of 8,136 respondents, 95.97% of women felt that self-sampling was easy to perform, 84.61% had no discomfort when using a self-sampling brush, 62.37% women were more likely to choose self-sampling for CCS in future, and 92.53% were willing to introduce the concept to others around them. The reliability and ease of self-sampling were independent factors influencing selection of self-sampling ( < 0.05). The Internet-facilitated self-sampling for HPV testing and management model for cervical cancer prevention is feasible and effective. It can be used as a supplement to the conventional screening, particularly in outlying areas with few medical resources, to improve the coverage of CCS. https://www.chictr.org.cn, identifier: ChiCTR2000032331.