Alabama.com: How a new self-test for HPV could be a game changer
The University of Cincinnati's Leeya Pinder was featured in an Alabama.com article about how self-testing for HPV could make preventative care more accessible to those facing the most barriers.
To help close the gap in access to screening for cervical cancer, the National Cancer Institute has launched the Cervical Cancer ‘Last Mile’ Initiative, a public-private partnership working to provide evidence on the effectiveness and accuracy of self-testing for HPV.
Part of this initiative is the SHIP trial (Self-collection for HPV testing to Improve Cervical Cancer Prevention). The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center is one of 25 SHIP trial sites across the country testing whether samples self-collected by patients for HPV testing are as accurate and effective as clinic-collected samples.
“It really gives people the opportunity to just do a vaginal swab or a cervico-vaginal swab so that they can get tested for high-risk HPV, which is usually the driver of cervical precancer and cervical cancer,” said Pinder, MD, a University of Cincinnati Cancer Center member and associate professor in the UC College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology. “What we’ve been trying to do over the last several years is prove that women can actually do HPV testing on their own.”
Previous research has shown self-testing methods are effective, especially for certain underscreened populations.
“Those populations include those who sometimes struggle with substance abuse, sometimes have a history of trauma or other kinds of abuse, those that are concerned about their immigration status or actually, many things,” she said. “These are reaching the people who for whatever reason do not have great access to a health care provider to get their cervical cancer screening.”
Read the Alabama.com story, originally published on Reckon.
Read more about the SHIP trial.
Featured photo at top of HPV test form. Photo/iStock/Sefa Ozel.
Latest UC News
- Pianist, educator and scholar Lynn Worcester Jones joins CCM’s facultyUC College-Conservatory of Music Interim Dean Jonathan Kregor has announced the addition of Lynn Worcester Jones, DMA, to the college’s roster of distinguished performing and media arts faculty members. Jones is an innovative pianist, educator, writer, speaker, mentor and leader who encourages career preparation and excellence in students. She begins her new role as Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Group Piano at CCM on Aug. 15, 2024.
- Residents concerned about high concentration of low-income housingEfforts to build more affordable housing in Cincinnati have created concerns for residents as low-income housing has been concentrated in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, WCPO reported. Gary Painter, PhD, the academic director of the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business real estate program and a professor of real estate, said a complaint against the city could lead to positive outcomes.
- Is ketamine the answer to treatment-resistant depression?The University of Cincinnati's Stephen Rush joined WVXU's Cincinnati Edition to discuss the use of ketamine and esketamine to treat treatment-resistant depression.
- Scientists craft bold plan to unlock secrets of RNAUC Vice President for Research Patrick Limbach is a key figure in the National Academies’ massive undertaking to sequence RNA in the next 15 years.
- Fellowship aimed at diversifying the nursing workforce celebrates a meaningful milestoneTo help prepare and expand a nursing workforce that is reflective of and responsive to an increasingly diverse patient population, UC College of Nursing launched its Cultivating Undergraduate Nursing Resilience and Equity (CURE) program in the fall of 2021.
- GE Aerospace expands Next Engineers program for Cincinnati youthGE Aerospace Foundation is investing further in its Next Engineers program, including the Cincinnati location facilitated by the University of Cincinnati, extending the program locally through 2028. Engineering Academy, a three-year engineering education program for high-schoolers, graduated its first cohort of students. Students who complete the program and go on to pursue an engineering degree in college will receive a scholarship.