Under-served populations leverage HPV self-sampling for cervical cancer elimination

In this talk on the use of HPV self-sampling as a means of screening for cervical cancer at the recent 37th Annual Conference of the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS 2025), Professor Deborah Bateson of the Sydney Medical School at The University of Sydney and Professor Woo Yin Ling of the University of Malaya both share their incredible insights and experiences with the real world use of HPV self-sampling, especially in under or never-screened populations. Australia has been at the forefront of cervical cancer elimination. On track to eliminating cervical cancer by 2035, they owe this to several key factors. They were the first country globally to launch an organised school-based HPV vaccination programme, switched primary screening methods from pap smears to HPV DNA tests (reducing need for re- testing from every 2 years to 5 years), and transitioning to a national wide cancer screening registry that reduced the loss to follow-up. In this talk, Professor Bateson discusses the use of HPV self-sampling as a way to reach under and never-screened people in conjunction with novel approaches for screening programmes to ensure care reaches every woman in need. While the implementation of such a programme requires resources and careful change management processes, the results are well worth it. Post implementation, the programme saw 46% of samples taken from self-collection sources and reaching those who would otherwise have been missed. In Malaysia, Professor Woo expands on the very successful Programme Rose (which has been covered here before) that her foundation has been running since 2019. She emphasises that real-world implementation of testing methods are simply what works in the field. In addition to the extensive field work that the programme conducts, Professor Woo is passionate about addressing perceptions, educating and communicating facts about cervical cancer effectively to all. With these, the women they reach in under-served communities are able to better understand their own health needs and are better empowered to make decisions.