Journal Article

Investigating feasibility of 2021 WHO protocol for cervical cancer screening in underscreened populations: PREvention and SCReening Innovation Project Toward Elimination of Cervical Cancer (PRESCRIP-TEC)

Nazrul, Naheed, Biesma, Regien, Koot, Jaap, Prasad, Keerthana, Fouw, Marlieke de, Beltman, Jogchum J., Versluis, Marco, de Bock, Geertruida H., Stekelenburg, Jelle, Rahman, Aminur, Rusnak, Martin, Guruvare, Shyamala, der Schans, Jurjen van, Sultanov, Marat, Zeeuw, Janine de, Majdan, Marek, Rao, Arathi P., Nakisige, Carolyn

2022

Overview

Background High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing has been recommended by the World Health Organization as the primary screening test in cervical screening programs. The option of self-sampling for this screening method can potentially increase women’s participation. Designing screening programs to implement this method among underscreened populations will require contextualized evidence. Methods PREvention and SCReening Innovation Project Toward Elimination of Cervical Cancer (PRESCRIP-TEC) will use a multi-method approach to investigate the feasibility of implementing a cervical cancer screening strategy with hrHPV self-testing as the primary screening test in Bangladesh, India, Slovak Republic and Uganda. The primary outcomes of study include uptake and coverage of the screening program and adherence to follow-up. These outcomes will be evaluated through a pre-post quasi-experimental study design. Secondary objectives of the study include the analysis of client-related factors and health system factors related to cervical cancer screening, a validation study of an artificial intelligence decision support system and an economic evaluation of the screening strategy. Discussion PRESCRIP-TEC aims to provide evidence regarding hrHPV self-testing and the World Health Organization’s recommendations for cervical cancer screening in a variety of settings, targeting vulnerable groups. The main quantitative findings of the project related to the impact on uptake and coverage of screening will be complemented by qualitative analyses of various determinants of successful implementation of screening. The study will also provide decision-makers with insights into economic aspects of implementing hrHPV self-testing, as well as evaluate the feasibility of using artificial intelligence for task-shifting in visual inspection with acetic acid. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05234112 . Registered 10 February 2022

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Acetic acid / Artificial Intelligence / At risk populations / Bangladesh / Biostatistics / Cancer / Cancer screening / Cellular biology / Cervical cancer / Cervical cancer screening / Cervix / Decision support systems / Diagnosis / Disease prevention / Early Detection of Cancer - methods / Economics / Environmental Health / Epidemiology / Feasibility Studies / Female / Human papillomavirus / Human papillomavirus testing / Humans / Immunization / Implementation / India / Innovations / Inspection / Mass Screening - methods / Medical screening / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Methods / Pap smear / Papillomaviridae / Papillomavirus Infections - diagnosis / Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control / Participation / Populations / Public Health / Qualitative analysis / Self testing / Strategy / Study Protocol / Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - diagnosis / Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - prevention & control / Vaccine / Visual tasks / Womens health / World Health Organization