By Nancy Lapid

Women at average risk of cervical cancer can now safely conduct self-tests for the human papillomavirus (HPV) at home, bypassing traditional, often uncomfortable, clinic examinations. This significant development was announced by the American Cancer Society (ACS) on Thursday.

The first at-home screening test for HPV, developed by Teal Health and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, utilizes a simple vaginal swab. This method eliminates the need for the speculum-based exam typically performed in a clinical setting, with samples then sent to a certified laboratory for analysis.

The move addresses a key barrier to screening, as traditional speculum exams can be uncomfortable or even painful. Dr. Diane Harper of the University of Michigan, who has researched the effectiveness of vaginal swabs, noted earlier this year that “half of the women in the U.S. who have cervical cancer did not undergo a screening test in the past ten years.”

Published in CA - A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, these new guidelines are expected to “help improve compliance with screening and reduce the risk of cervical cancer,” stated co-author Dr. Robert Smith, senior vice president of the ACS.

Speculum exams are preferred, but self-collected vaginal specimens are acceptable, the updated recommendations say.

When self-collected specimens are HPV-negative, repeat screening in three years is recommended, while negative speculum tests should be repeated every five years, the ACS says.

The ACS advises average-risk patients to initiate cervical cancer screening at age 25 and undergo testing for high-risk HPV strains – so-called primary HPV testing - every five years through age 65. At that point, screening can stop, as long as the last few tests have been negative.

While cervical cancer screening programs have decreased the incidence of the disease by more than half since the mid-1970s, more than 13,000 cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year and more than 4,000 people will die from the disease, the ACS says.

A vaginal swab test by Roche ROG.S for use by patients in doctors’ offices was approved in May 2024.

The guideline authors note that HPV vaccination, such as with Merck's MRK.N Gardasil, before age 17 is linked with a 90 percent reduction in the risk of cervical cancer.