Comparison of doctor sampling and self-collection of specimens in the same examinee for cervical cytopathology and human papillomavirus testing

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of the study is to compare the results of doctor sampling and self-collection of specimens in the same examinee for cervical cytopathology and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing.Methods Patients who have undergone cervical cancer screening at the four clinics affiliated with the Association for Preventive Medicine of Japan and who consented to participate were included in the study. Approximately one month after undergoing cervical cancer screening at the clinic, we tested a method of self-collection by mailing a Kato-type self-collection container to the participants. We evaluated the results of cytopathology and HPV testing obtained by self-collection and doctor sampling in the same patients. We used the χ2 test and κ analysis for the evaluation of the results.Results A total of 134 health checkup participants each underwent both doctor sampling and self-collection. The positive rate of cytology was 6.0% in doctor sampling and 2.2% for self-collection, but there was no evidence in statistical significance (P>0.05). However, cervical duct lining membrane cells could not be detected by self-collection. The positive rate of HPV testing in both doctor sampling and self-collection was the same at 14.2%. However, HPV18 type was positive only in one case by self-collection.Conclusion The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to proceed with studies by self-collection, and introduce the applications of liquid cytopathology and its combined uses with HPV testing.