Low-Cost Molecular Cervical Cancer Screening Study

Low-cost, molecular human papillomavirus (HPV) testing may offer a more robust alternative to Pap smears and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for cervical cancer screening of underserved women. Two low-cost molecular tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) have been developed: 1) AVantage HPV E6 Test (Arbor Vita Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) ( HPV E6 Test ) detects E6 oncoproteins from HPV16, 18, and 45 and 2) careHPV (Qiagen, Gaithersburg, MD, USA) detects the DNA for a pool of 14 carcinogenic HPV genotypes. The HPV E6 Test will be ready for the first clinical evaluations in 2010. The HPV E6 Test works like an ELISA in strip format such that it takes less than two hours to run and may provide point-of-care (diagnostic testing at or near the site of patient care) testing. careHPV, a batch HPV DNA test that takes 2.5 hours to perform, has already been developed and is currently being used in demonstration projects. The results to date for careHPV are promising. As our primary objective, we wish to evaluate both tests, and to evaluate the best low-cost triage strategies for careHPV-positive results in areas of high prevalence of carcinogenic HPV DNA. A study of 7,500 women, ages 25-65 years, identified from an age- and region-stratified sample of women living in rural China will be conducted. All women will be screened at enrollment, and a high-risk subgroup at the one-year follow-up, by the following tests: HPV E6 Test, careHPV, and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Women will also be screened at enrollment, and a high-risk subgroup at the one-year follow-up, using the digene HC2 HPV DNA Test TM ( HC2 ) (formerly known as Hybrid Capture 2)(Qiagen), the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved HPV test and the gold standard for clinical HPV testing. At both time points, all screen-positive women will be evaluated by colposcopy using a rigorous diagnostic protocol. A random sample of screen negatives will undergo colposcopy but will only undergo biopsies if there is visual evidence of cervical epithelial abnormalities. careHPV-positive specimens will be tested for most carcinogenic HPV genotypes, HPV16, HPV18, and HPV45 using careHPV16/18/45. This triage test utilizes the same test platform as careHPV but screens only for those 3 carcinogenic HPV genotypes. The primary goals are 1) to evaluate the clinical performance of careHPV, the HPV E6 Test, and VIA for detection of cervical precancer and cancer and 2) to determine the positive predictive values of VIA, the HPV E6 Test, and HPV16/18/45 detection by careHPV16/18/45 for cervical precancer and cancer among careHPV-positive women.