Human papillomavirus testing as part of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program.

Abstract

On 1 December 2017, Australia moved to a new National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP), which uses primary human papillomavirus (HPV) nucleic acid testing (NAT) followed by reflex liquid-based cytology for women aged between 25 and 74 years. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the different HPV NAT assays that satisfy the requirements for use in the renewed NCSP. Australia has adopted innovative, evidence-based criteria for the inclusion of HPV NAT assays in the renewed NCSP. These include the requirements for detection of all 12 designated oncogenic HPV types, including separate detection and reporting of HPV 16 and 18; validation against reference assays showing sufficient sensitivity and specificity for the detection of underlying high-grade cervical disease; reproducibility; and the presence of cellularity and inhibition controls. Practitioners can feel assured that HPV NAT undertaken as part of the renewed NCSP will produce high‑quality results irrespective of location or pathology provider.