Researchers at Randers District Hospital have found that HPV screening in women over 65 who have never been tested for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) can improve cervical cancer prevention by detecting precancerous lesions. The research was published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
HPV can increase the risk of developing cervical cancer and other malignancies. Testing for strains of HPV that are particularly likely to cause cancer is considered the primary screening tool for cervical cancer in most countries, but many women over the age of 65 have never been tested for HPV. There is controversy over whether the first HPV test should be done in old age.
The new study included all women aged 65 to 69 in Denmark who had not been screened for cervical cancer in the past 5.5 years and had no HPV test registration between the ages of 60 and 64.
11,192 women from one region were invited to participate in HPV-based cervical cancer screening, either by a doctor or at home using a special test kit.
33,387 women from four other regions of Denmark were assigned to the control group and received cervical and cervical cytology instead of HPV testing. This method allows you to identify severe dysplasia – a precancerous condition of the cervix.
Of the women in the intervention group, 6,965 (62.2%) were screened within 12 months, and cervical cytology was collected from 743 (2.2%) of the patients in the control group. The incidence of severe dysplasia (CIN2+) was 3.9 cases per 1000 women in the screening group and 0.3 cases per 1000 women in the control group. The data may show that HPV screening is effective in identifying women with cervical precancerous changes and will help initiate treatment in a timely manner to prevent the development of a tumor.
The study also found that under-examined women aged 50-64 years had a higher prevalence of HPV and were more likely to have severe dysplasia compared to under-examined women.
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