Self-sampling to improve cervical cancer screening
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Among the various reasons why a significant number of women do not attend cervical screening is unwillingness to undergo pelvic examination which is necessary in conventional screening.
Self-sampling is a new alternative which has potential to improve screening performance by reducing barriers, provided that accuracy of the screening test collected by the women themselves is as good as physician collected sample.
Cervical cancer screening program where pre-cancers and cancers are detected and treated at early stage plays a major role in prevention. Screening should not only be accurate but also convenient for women. We have shown that self-sampling is well accepted by women in Norway and importantly, self-sampling performs equally well to physician-taken samples, displaying comparable sensitivity for detection of cervical precancer and cancer.
We have also shown that offering self-sampling taken at home as an alternative to a physician-taken sample increases screening attendance among women who had not attended to screening for more than 10 years. These findings have contributed to implementation of self-sampling in the national screening program, CervicalScreen Norway now in 2024. Self-sampling is expected to boost participation among long-term non-attenders and enhance cervical cancer prevention.
For more detailed information:
- Self-collected specimens in the fight against cervical cancer
- Increased attendance and reduced inequity in cervical cancer screening
The WHO has set a target for global elimination of cervical cancer by 2030. Reaching this goal is dependent on effective screening combined with vaccination against human papillomavirus HPV.