We aimed to evaluate if vaginal SS, without commercial preservatives was adequate for HPV testing.
Women with abnormal cervical smears as determined from the organized screening program were invited to a colposcopy clinic. The 121 women were asked to insert a cotton swab into the vagina and rotate it, put the cotton swab into a sterile cryotube, break the upper part of the stick and put the cap on. Thereafter, the gynaecologist collected a liquid based cytology (LBC) sample. The presence of HPV-types in SS and LBC samples was analysed with PCR and luminex-based typing.
High-risk-HPV (hr-HPV) DNA was found in 65 of the tested 108 SS (60 % ; 95 % CI 0.50-0.69), whereas LBC found hr-HPV in 64/108 samples (59 % ; 95 % CI 0.49-0.69). The agreement between sampling with SS and LBC was good, kappa value 0.67 (95 % CI; 0.53-0.81). The sensitivity for SS with hr-HPV to find HSIL was 81 % (95 % CI; 67-95 % ), specificity 49 % (95 % CI; 37-60 % ) and the sensitivity for LBC with hr-HPV to find HSIL was 90 % (95 % CI 80-100 % ), specificity53 % (95 % CI; 42-65 % ).
This new vaginal self-sampling method detects hr-HPV-infections with similar sensitivity as a cervical smear taken by a gynaecologist. This self-sampling method is cost-effective and well tolerated, and the kit is suitable for regular mail transport.