PHOENIX — Self-screenings for HPV are now being offered at Sonora Quest Laboratories in Arizona, the medical company announced on Tuesday.
Patients, beginning on Monday, are able to self-collect samples to test for human papillomavirus (HPV), which is an infection that can lead to cervical cancers in women.
The new option was designed for those who “decline or are unable to have a pelvic exam,” according to a press release.
After a patient uses a prescribed swab to collect the pelvic sample, they can return it to their designated health care provider and then it will be transferred to Sonora Quest for HPV assessment.
The tests have to be done “in a health care setting” right now, but Sonora Quest’s Dr. Stacy White said in the release that the second step is to offer them at home.
Male fertility testing, on the other hand, was launched as an at-home service in February.
The Valley-based lab is among the first in the U.S. “to implement HPV self-collection.” The testing method has already been made available in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Australia.
“Self-collection is a safe and accurate way to screen HPV; these tests are considered as specific as tests performed by clinicians,” White said in the release. “We hope it encourages more people to begin screening and to follow recommended screening guidelines.”
If patients choose to submit their samples to the Papago lab in Tempe, it offers the extra benefit of being examined by a new “digital cytology system” that is infused with AI imaging tech “to better identify pre-cancerous lesions and cervical cancer cells.”
Why Sonora Quest says HPV screening is important
Screening for the precursor to most cervical cancers is critical because about 50% of U.S. cases are found in women who have either never been screened or haven’t been screened in the five years prior to their diagnosis.
Nearly 4,500 of 11,500 who get this cancer type die annually in the U.S., according to Sonora Quest.
Learn more about the new screening option here.
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