Affordable HPV testing for less developed countries

Authors

• EJ Torres-Gonzalez
• MC Agudelo
• M Rodriguez-Herrera
• G Sanchez
• M Dean

Abstract

Cervical cancer is a slow, progressive, and preventable disease. However, cervical cancer screening can be costly to implement, thus leaving less developed countries with higher rates of the disease. For example, Colombia has a cervical cancer incidence and mortality of 12.6% and 10.4%, respectively, in contrast to rates of 2.9% and 2.8% reported for more developed countries (World Health Organization, 2012). This high mortality can be reduced with the implementation of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) co-testing, in addition to current cytologic screening. These HPV tests are intended to target the 13 HPV types that cause virtually all cervical cancers. Qiagen Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) assay is a widely-used test that detects these 13 high risk HPV types, but also cross-reacts with other low risk types of HPV. It can be costly to implement due to its use of a proprietary machine. The HybriBio H13 kit is an inexpensive qPCR test that is highly specific to the 13 high risk HPV types. The ease of performing the test and the lower cost of equipment make it appealing to compare its performance to HC2. We tested the HybriBio H13 in 843 Colombian women that had been previously evaluated with the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2). The agreement (concordance) between the tests was 85.7% (95% CI: 83-88), and Cohen’s kappa was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.65-0.75). Meanwhile, studies of the other available HPV tests report agreements with HC2 between 48% and 69%, and kappa values ranging 0.60-0.79. We are exploring the significance of these results when clinical outcome is considered.

Scientific Focus Area: Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

This page was last updated on Friday, March 26, 2021