From the Guidelines
Currently, no widely available home kits offer complete differentiation of all high-risk HPV strains, and individuals should consult healthcare providers for clinical testing to ensure comprehensive strain identification and appropriate follow-up care. The most recent and highest quality study, published in 2020 1, provides information on cervical cancer screening tests, including primary HPV tests, cotests, and HPV DNA tests. According to this study, some FDA-approved tests, such as the Onclarity HPV test, can detect multiple high-risk HPV types, including types 16,18,45,31,51,52,33+58,35+39+68, and 56+59+66. However, these tests are not widely available as home kits and are typically used in clinical settings.
Some key points to consider:
- Most FDA-approved home HPV tests detect the presence of high-risk HPV types collectively, particularly focusing on types 16 and 18, which cause approximately 70% of cervical cancers.
- These tests have limitations and do not replace regular Pap smears or clinical HPV testing, which can more comprehensively identify specific high-risk strains.
- The technology for comprehensive strain differentiation currently exists primarily in clinical settings where PCR-based assays can identify multiple high-risk HPV types.
- For complete HPV strain differentiation, individuals should consult healthcare providers for clinical testing, as this provides more thorough results and appropriate follow-up care based on specific strain identification.
It is essential to note that the American Cancer Society guidelines for cervical cancer screening, updated in 2020 1, recommend that women should begin screening at age 21 and continue until age 65, with the option to use primary HPV testing, cotesting, or cytology alone. However, these guidelines do not recommend the use of home kits for HPV testing, and individuals should consult healthcare providers for clinical testing and follow-up care. Additionally, the 2010 study on sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 1 and the 2010 study on cervical cancer screening 1 provide information on HPV testing and screening, but the most recent and highest quality study is the 2020 study 1.
From the Research
HPV Differentiation Home Kits
There are no specific home kits mentioned in the provided studies that offer Human Papillomavirus (HPV) differentiation of all high-risk strains.
Available Screening Methods
- HPV testing is effective in identifying precancerous lesions and allows for interventions that can prevent the development of cancer 2.
- Genotyping to specifically detect HPV types 16 and 18 in conjunction with reflex cytology for the remaining high-risk HPV genotypes has been the recommended method for triage of positive results 3.
- Testing options including Dual Stain for p16/Ki-67 and extended HPV genotyping are currently being incorporated into treatment algorithms as alternatives 3.
Performance of HPV Testing
- HPV testing has much better sensitivity than cytology to identify high-grade cervical lesions with slightly lower specificity 4.
- HPV testing with individual HPV-16/HPV-18 genotyping could represent a more accurate methodology for primary cervical cancer screening in comparison to liquid-based cytology, especially in older women 4.
Limitations of Current Methods
- The addition of an HPV test to the Pap test to screen women for cervical cancer reduces the incidence of grade 2 or 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cancer detected by subsequent screening examinations, but whether this gain represents overdiagnosis or protection against future high-grade cervical epithelial neoplasia or cervical cancer is unknown 5.