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Assessing the feasibility of HPV screening for cervical cancer in pregnant women in Ethiopia

Mekuria, Selamawit LU ; Assiged, Nahom ; Biazin, Habtamu ; Borgfeldt, Christer LU ; Abebe, Tamrat ; Mihret, Adane ; Forslund, Ola LU and Jerkeman, Mats LU (2025) In Scientific Reports 15(1).
Abstract
Pregnant women have historically and are currently being excluded from cervical cancer screening in most low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and outcomes of including pregnant women in a HPV self-sampling-based screening program in Ethiopia. Pregnant women, recruited from a previously established cohort, were included. They answered a questionnaire and provided HPV self-samples. If the woman was HR-HPV positive, she underwent triage with VIA with or without Iodine. If positive in triage, the woman was re-scheduled after delivery for a new exam. Primary outcome was screening participation. The participation rate of pregnant women was 92.1% (117/127) (95% CI 86.0–96.1%). They had the... (More)
Pregnant women have historically and are currently being excluded from cervical cancer screening in most low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and outcomes of including pregnant women in a HPV self-sampling-based screening program in Ethiopia. Pregnant women, recruited from a previously established cohort, were included. They answered a questionnaire and provided HPV self-samples. If the woman was HR-HPV positive, she underwent triage with VIA with or without Iodine. If positive in triage, the woman was re-scheduled after delivery for a new exam. Primary outcome was screening participation. The participation rate of pregnant women was 92.1% (117/127) (95% CI 86.0–96.1%). They had the same knowledge about cervical cancer and acceptance rate to the study as their non-pregnant peers. Pregnant women had less history of previous screening (p = 0.08). The HPV prevalence was 25.4% (29/114) in self-samples. 93.1% (27/29) attended follow-up, where only 11 had not delivered, and 54.6% (6/11) had detectable HPV infection in their cervical samples. Including pregnant women in HPV self-sampling-based screening is feasible and highly accepted. The findings support integrating pregnant women into cervical cancer screening programs in to enhance prevention and early detection efforts. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Scientific Reports
volume
15
issue
1
article number
31771
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:40877387
  • pmid:40877387
  • scopus:105014725527
ISSN
2045-2322
DOI
10.1038/s41598-025-15957-y
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b5f9a395-c236-4bf5-a83d-0953be1406c5
date added to LUP
2025-09-16 11:19:09
date last changed
2025-10-14 12:42:07
@article{b5f9a395-c236-4bf5-a83d-0953be1406c5,
  abstract     = {{Pregnant women have historically and are currently being excluded from cervical cancer screening in most low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and outcomes of including pregnant women in a HPV self-sampling-based screening program in Ethiopia. Pregnant women, recruited from a previously established cohort, were included. They answered a questionnaire and provided HPV self-samples. If the woman was HR-HPV positive, she underwent triage with VIA with or without Iodine. If positive in triage, the woman was re-scheduled after delivery for a new exam. Primary outcome was screening participation. The participation rate of pregnant women was 92.1% (117/127) (95% CI 86.0–96.1%). They had the same knowledge about cervical cancer and acceptance rate to the study as their non-pregnant peers. Pregnant women had less history of previous screening (p = 0.08). The HPV prevalence was 25.4% (29/114) in self-samples. 93.1% (27/29) attended follow-up, where only 11 had not delivered, and 54.6% (6/11) had detectable HPV infection in their cervical samples. Including pregnant women in HPV self-sampling-based screening is feasible and highly accepted. The findings support integrating pregnant women into cervical cancer screening programs in to enhance prevention and early detection efforts.}},
  author       = {{Mekuria, Selamawit and Assiged, Nahom and Biazin, Habtamu and Borgfeldt, Christer and Abebe, Tamrat and Mihret, Adane and Forslund, Ola and Jerkeman, Mats}},
  issn         = {{2045-2322}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Scientific Reports}},
  title        = {{Assessing the feasibility of HPV screening for cervical cancer in pregnant women in Ethiopia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15957-y}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41598-025-15957-y}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}