[Access to breast cancer screening among females in China: a focus report on screening rate and composition]

Objective: To systematically integrate and analyze the breast cancer screening rates among females in China and to estimate the composition of different screening service types. Methods: Based on core literature, relevant official websites, projects/survey reports, and information on breast cancer screening rates of Chinese females were extracted and analyzed, and the screening rates for 40-69 years old and 35-64 years old were standardized and compared using 2010 China's population structure. The literature review method was used to retrieve the journal literature related to the composition of breast cancer screening services types (organized screening, physical examination and opportunistic screening). The number of detected literature and the median sample size of individual screening people of the three screening service types were analyzed, and used them as weights to estimate the composition of screening service types. Results: A total of 6 related national surveys on breast cancer screening rate were identified, including 2 from the National Health Service Surveys (broader definition of "breast screening" in 2013, 2018) and 4 from the chronic disease monitoring system of China CDC (the exact definition of "breast cancer screening" in 2010, 2013 and twice in 2015). The age-standardized analysis indicated that 1-year, 2-year and 3-year breast cancer screening rates in 2015 among females in China aged 40-69 years old were 16.9%, 20.2% and 21.4%, respectively. The ever-breast cancer-screened rates were 21.1% in 2013 and 23.5% in 2015 among females aged 40-69, and the corresponding rates were 23.3% and 25.7%, respectively, among females aged 35-64. When taking the literature published in 2015 for further literature review, 130 articles were included, in which the proportions of numbers of reports on organized screening, physical examination, and opportunistic screening were 71.0%, 23.7%, and 5.3%, respectively. Along with the extracted data on median sample sizes (shown in the main text) by breast cancer screening types, it was estimated that the individual service volume of corresponding screening types accounted for 88.0%, 11.2% and 0.8% among all the screened females in China in 2015. Conclusions: The breast cancer screening rates among females of appropriate age in China in 2015 are higher than those in 2013. The literature review analysis preliminarily suggested that the current breast cancer screening service type in China is mainly organized screening service.

[Human papillomavirus prevalence and type distribution in Chinese juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis patients]

Objective: To evaluate HPV prevalence and type distribution in Chinese juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JoRRP) patients. Methods: We searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, China Biology Medicine disc, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for studies assessing HPV infection of Chinese JoRRP patients up to 1 October, 2022. Two authors independently performed literature selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. HPV prevalence and HPV type-specific prevalence were pooled using a random effects model after Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation. All analyses were performed with R 4.1.3 software. Results: Nineteen publications investigating HPV infection of JoRRP patients were included in the final analyses. Of these, 16 studies reported HPV prevalence with a sample size of 1 528 patients, and 11 studies reported HPV6 prevalence and HPV11 prevalence with a sample size of 611 patients. All studies were graded as medium quality. In Chinese JoRRP patients, the synthesized HPV prevalence was 92.0% (95%CI:86.0%-96.6%, I²=87%), HPV6 prevalence was 42.4% (95%CI:34.9%-50.1%, I²=61%), and HPV11 prevalence was 72.3% (95%CI:59.0%-83.9%, I²=87%). All the pooled prevalence persisted in subgroup analyses stratified by publication year, sample size, and specimen type (P>0.05). There was no evidence of publication bias. In Chinese JoRRP patients, HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 52, and 58 prevalence was very low. Conclusions: Our findings suggested high HPV prevalence in Chinese JoRRP patients, and the most common HPV types were HPV6 and HPV11.

[Global guidelines for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions treatment: a systematic review]

Objective: To systematically summarize current status and recommendations of the global cervical cancer and precancerous lesions treatment guidelines. Methods: The retrieval for all the Chinese and English literature published before July 8, 2021 was conducted in PubMed, Embase, SinoMed Database, CNKI and Wanfang Database, supplemented by a search of health websites of countries worldwide, with"uterine cervical neoplasms""cervix cancer""cervical neoplasm""cervical precancerous lesions""treat*""guideline*""practice guideline*""consensus" "recommendation*""guidebook*"in English as well as"cervical precancerous lesions""cervical neoplasm""treatment""guideline*""consensus"in Chinese as search keywords. A total of 38 guidelines were included for data extraction and analysis. Results: Guidelines covered Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania. Conservative observation was recommended for the CIN1 population. For the women with CIN2/CIN3, ablation or excision was recommended according to the specific situation and guidelines of developed countries give priority to the latter. In low and middle resource countries, given the availability of medical resources, ablative treatment was recommended as an alternative to excisional treatment if the women were eligible. For women with adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), cervical conization or total hysterectomy was recommended depending on the patient's desire of fertility. For patients with cervical cancer, most guidelines recommended surgery for early disease and smaller lesions, otherwise concurrent chemoradiotherapy was usually the main treatment modality for advanced cancers. All guidelines recommended long-term follow-up to monitor disease recurrence after treatment. Follow-up methods included human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and/or cytology or colposcopy. Most guidelines recommended follow-up at 6 or 12 months after treatment for cervical precancerous lesions, and 3~4 months for cervical cancer. Conclusions: There are some differences in the treatment and management recommendations for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions issued by different countries and regions around the world. Based on the global treatment guidelines and medical resource of different regions, the treatment and management guidelines for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions suitable for different regions of China should be developed, so as to achieve effective treatment.

[Causes and countermeasures of the rapidly rising burden on cervical cancer in Chinese women]

The world is entering a new era of accelerated elimination of cervical cancer, while the age-standardized incidence, and mortality of cervical cancer in China are rising rapidly. This article summarizes and describes the current situation and trends of the burden of cervical cancer in China, reviews and analyzes the comprehensive prevention practice of cervical cancer, focusing on critical reasons for the increasing burden of cervical cancer, from the perspectives of sociology, behavior, and epidemiology in the population. Countermeasures are proposed to provide guidance and theoretical reference for the precise prevention of cervical cancer to eliminate cervical cancer.

[Performance of point-of-care testing for cervical cancer screening]

Objective: To evaluate the performance of point-of-care testing for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions screening. Methods: In September 2020, 197 and 273 women were selected by using simple random sampling method from "self-sampling" cohort and "physician-sampling" cohort established in Xiangyuan county, Shanxi Province, China, respectively. Cervical exfoliated cells were collected by women themselves or gynecologists. All samples were detected by POCT and women with positive result were directly referred for colposcopy. Subsequently, all the samples were detected by careHPV and PCR test. Colposcopy and punch biopsy were performed for women with POCT negative but careHPV or PCR test positive at another visit. Using histopathological diagnosis as the gold standard, we calculated sensitivity, specificity and drew the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The accuracy of POCT was analyzed and compared to that of careHPV and conventional PCR test in cervical cancer and precancerous lesions screening. Results: The median (Q₁ , Q₃) age of 470 women was 51 (45, 57) years old. Based on self-sampling, the sensitivity and specificity of POCT for CIN2+ were 100.00% (95%CI: 56.56%-100.00%) and 28.95% (95%CI: 22.97%-35.76%), respectively. Compared with POCT, POCT HPV16/18 test had similar sensitivity and higher specificity of 89.47% (95%CI: 84.30%-93.08%). Self-sampling POCT HPV16/18 test had an AUC of 0.947 (95%CI:0.910-0.985), which was higher than that of careHPV and PCR test. Physician-sampling POCT test had 100.00% sensitivity (95%CI: 64.57%-100.00%) and 55.85% specificity (95%CI: 49.83%-61.70%) for detecting CIN2+. POCT HPV16/18 test had lower sensitivity (71.43%, 95%CI: 35.90%-91.76%) and higher specificity (92.45%, 95%CI: 88.63%-95.06%). POCT HPV16/18 test generally showed similar AUC on both self-collected samples and clinician-collected samples (0.947 vs 0.819, P=0.217). Conclusion: POCT HPV16/18 test is an effective method with relatively high sensitivity and specificity for cervical cancer screening.

[Interpretation of"WHO guideline for screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer lesions for cervical cancer prevention, second edition"]

Cervical cancer can be eliminated through primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Yet it remains one of the gravest threats to women's lives worldwide. In November 2020, WHO officially launched the global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, and underlined that screening and treatment for cervical pre-cancer lesions are two of three key measures for the elimination. In July 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued the second edition of"WHO guideline for screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer lesions for cervical cancer prevention"to provide important guidance to countries to support them in achieving the target of cervical cancer elimination in all women. This article will interpret the methods for the guideline development, the recommendations/good practice statements on screening and treatment to prevent cervical cancer (including the age to start/stop screening, screening methods, screening interval, the management of screen-positive women and treatment of the precancerous lesions, etc.) and its impact globally, providing reference for the updates of guideline and policy making on cervical cancer prevention and control in China.

[Global development of human papillomavirus vaccination guidelines: a systematic review]

Objective: To systematically summarize the development of global human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination guidelines. Methods: The retrieval for all the Chinese and English literature published before August 2020 was conducted in PubMed, Embase and China Biomedical Literature Database, with "papillomavirus vaccines" "wart virus vaccine" "guideline" "practice guideline" "health planning guidelines" "guidelines as topic" "practice guidelines as topic" "immunization programs" in English as well as "papillomavirus vaccines" "HPV vaccine" "guideline" "recommendation" "consensus" in Chinese as search keywords. A total of 18 guidelines were included for data extraction and analysis. Results: The 18 pieces of guidelines included 1 pieces of World Health Organization (WHO) position paper, 6 pieces of guidelines at national or provincial level and other 11 pieces of by academic institutions. In national or provincial guidelines, the recommendation for routine vaccination mainly focused on 11-13 year-old adolescents and the recommendation for catch-up vaccination extends to 17-26 years old. Recommendation of guidelines by academic institutions were similar to the WHO position paper: girls aged 9-14 as the primary target for the routine vaccination; females aged 15-26 years old as the secondary target populations when it's feasible, affordable and cost-effective; women aged over 26 could be vaccinated at an individual level. There were only three guidelines simultaneously updated with the national immunization programme and covered four aspects: the vaccinated population (girls-only to gender-neutral vaccination), the periodic catch-up immunization, the dose schedule updates and the change of vaccine types. Conclusions: It's recommended that the development of Chinese HPV vaccination guidelines refer to global guidelines and updates and take full consideration of the epidemiological evidence, resources and current status of the immunization system in China.

[Accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer in China and building a paradigm for "Healthy China" cancer prevention]

Cervical cancer is a common malignant tumor that seriously threatens the health of Chinese women. The situation of prevention and control is still serious. In the past decade, the Chinese government has made great efforts to cervical cancer prevention and control and achieved remarkably in HPV vaccine development, sound health screening system, and treatment capacity of early cervical cancer and precancerous lesions. However, due to the large population base, unequal allocation of health resources, and uneven service quality across regions, there is still a significant gap to achieve the WHO's goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030. In order to fulfill the Global Strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, China urgently needs to learn from the international experience, combined with the real situation of cervical cancer prevention and control and the latest research progress in China and to put forward appropriate action recommendations and implementation approaches, which will contribute to promote the cervical cancer elimination process and to build a paradigm for "Healthy China" cancer prevention.

[Meta-analysis of annual probability of outcome for different cervical disease states]

Objective: To explore the annual probabilities of outcomes for different cervical disease states. Methods: Cohort studies related to the natural history of cervical cancer were retrieved from PubMed, Embase and China Biomedical Literature Database, and the retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to May 2020. Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to evaluate the quality of the included literatures. The annual outcome probabilities of different cervical disease states in high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) positive, negative and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1) population were calculated (95%CI). Random-effects model was used for meta-analysis. Egger's test was used to evaluate publication bias; sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the robustness of the combined parameters. Meta-regression was used to explore factors associated with the heterogeneity of annual outcome probability. Results: A total of 37 studies were included, including 12, 20 and 15 studies involving hrHPV negative, hrHPV positive and CIN1 population, respectively, with a Newcastle -Ottawa scale (NOS) score of 7.05±1.20. The annual probability (95%CI) of progression to CIN1, CIN2 and CIN3+ in hrHPV-positive population were 0.022 2 (0.014 3, 0.031 0), 0.017 0 (0.012 0, 0.022 0) and 0.016 2 (0.012 6, 0.019 8), respectively. The annual probability (95%CI) of progression to CIN1, CIN2 and CIN3+ in hrHPV-negative population was 0.002 7 (0.000 9, 0.004 6), 0.000 7 (0.000 3, 0.001 1) and 0.000 6 (0.000 3, 0.000 9), respectively. The annual probability (95%CI) of reversal to normal, maintenance of CIN1 status and progression to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or above (CIN2+) in CIN1 population were 0.578 1 (0.369 9, 0.786 3), 0.400 1 (0.167 4, 0.632 9), 0.056 9 (0.034 9, 0.078 9), respectively. Egger's test showed that there was publication bias in the annual outcome probability of hrHPV positive progression to CIN2 and CIN3+ and hrHPV negative progression to CIN2 and CIN1 progression to CIN2+, with t values of 5.50, 2.36, 2.80 and 4.12, respectively (all P values<0.05). Sensitivity analysis showed that when excluding any of the studies, the range of annual probability of progression to CIN1, CIN2 and CIN3+ were 0.016 6-0.024 7, 0.014 9-0.018 9 and 0.013 6-0.017 7 among hrHPV-positive population; 0.002 4-0.003 5, 0.000 6-0.000 9 and 0.000 5-0.000 7 among hrHPV-negative population and the range of annual probability of CIN1 reversal to normal, maintenance as CIN1 and progression to CIN2+ were 0.531 8-0.631 2, 0.321 9-0.443 3, and 0.052 0-0.061 0, respectively. Meta-regression analysis showed that region, population origin, population cytological diagnosis, follow-up time, and NOS score were not associated with the heterogeneity of annual outcome probability (all P values>0.05). Conclusion: The annual outcome probability of different cervical disease states in hrHPV positive population is high, and the CIN1 population only needs close follow-up.

[Effectiveness of the thermal ablation in the treatment of human papillomavirus infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Chinese women]

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of thermal ablation in the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in Chinese women. Methods: The high-risk HPV-positive women aged 20-65 who were detected through a cervical cancer screening project implemented in three rural sites (Etuoke counties in Inner Mongolia, Xiangyuan and Yangcheng counties in Shanxi Province) and one urban site (Shenzhen) in China were included in this prospective study. Follow up evaluation was performed on HPV positive women who underwent thermal ablation (n=166) as well as received no treatment (n=2 716) in cervical cancer screening program. For women with thermal ablation treatment, HPV test and cytology were used for follow-up with the interval of 6 months or longer after treatment. For women without treatment, HPV test was used for annual follow-up. Women with positive results in either of the HPV tests or abnormal cytology were referred for a colposcopy or biopsy if necessary. The HPV clearance rate and the cure rate of CIN were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 152 women treated with thermal ablation and 2 539 women without treatment reported for follow-up evaluation with the age M(Q1, Q3) of 42 (36, 48) and 47 (41, 54) years old, and the median time to follow-up time of 23.4 (12.4, 24.5) and 23.5 (12.4, 24.0)months, respectively. The HPV clearance rate in women undergoing thermal ablation was significantly higher than that in women with no treatment (73.0% vs 46.1%, P<0.001). The HPV16, HPV52 and HPV58 clearance rates among women receiving thermal ablation were higher than that in women without treatment with the OR (95%CI) of 2.8 (1.3-6.1), 3.2 (1.3-7.9) and 5.8 (2.1-15.6). For women with histologically confirmed CIN at baseline, cure rates were 77.4%(n=72) for thermal ablation. Cure rates of the thermal ablation were 81.0%(n=47) for CIN grade one (CIN1) and 71.4% (n=25) for CIN grade two or worse (CIN2+). Conclusions: Thermal ablation is effective to clear the HPV infection as well as to treat CIN. Particularly for the HPV genotypes with the paramount attributable proportion to cervical cancer and precancerous in China, the HPV clearance rate was significantly higher than that reported in the women without treatment.

[Global guidelines for cervical cancer screening: a systematic review]

Objective: To systematically summarize and evaluate the current cervical cancer screening guidelines worldwide. Methods: "Cervical cancer/cervical intraepithelial neoplasia", "screening", and "guidelines/recommendations" were searched as keywords in PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data for cervical cancer screening guidelines. The language was limited to Chinese and English. A total of 29 guidelines were included before September 1, 2020. The basic information and recommendations of the guidelines issued were summarized. Results: Among the 29 cervical cancer screening guidelines, most guidelines targeted on the population aged 25-65 years. Cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing are two commonly used methods for the cervical cancer screening, and HPV testing is increasingly recommended as the primary screening methods. Most guidelines recommended five years interval for the HPV testing-based screening or co-testing (HPV testing and cytology) based screening and three years for the cytology-based. For managing population with abnormal cervical cancer screening, triage or screening repeatedly to identify high-risk populations were more recommended. Direct colposcopy or treatment were allowed for women with higher risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) during the screening procedure. Several guidelines involving HPV vaccination population recommended them the same strategy as the general population without vaccination. Conclusion: Currently, most of the cervical cancer screening guidelines applied to the population with the average risk of the CINs and were issued by the developed countries. Primary methods for the cervical cancer screening have gradually changed from the cytology to the HPV testing. There is a lack of recommendations targeting special population on cervical cancer screening in the current guidelines.

[Genotype distribution and behavioral risk factor analysis of human papillomavirus infection among Kazak women in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and genotype distribution of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) and the correlation between cervical lesions and analyze the risk factors for HR-HPV infection. Methods: In June 2018, a population-based study for cervical cancer screening in Tuoli county of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was conducted. A total of 2 000 Kazak women aged 25-64 years were included in the study. Three cervical exfoliated cells samples were collected from them for careHPV, PCR HPV, p16(INK4a), and liquid-based cytology (LBC) tests. Women with any positive test were referred for colposcopy with biopsies taken at abnormal sites. Histo-pathological diagnoses were used as the gold standard. Results: The overall prevalence of HPV was 14.55%, among which the infection rate of HR-HPV was 12.90%, which was even higher in the 50-54 years age group. The most prevalent genotypes of HR-HPV were HPV16 (2.80%), HPV51(2.35%), HPV52 (1.70%), HPV56 (1.50%), and HPV39 (1.20%). The most common HPV infection was a single infection (71.48%). In the age group of 50-54 years, the multiple infection rates were higher, with the majority of double infection (69.88%), and HPV42 and 56 were the most common co-infection types. HPV16 (31.82%), HPV51 (27.27%) and HPV18 (13.64%) were higher in cervical intraepithelial neplasia grade 1, HPV16 (57.14%) was higher in cervical intraepithelial neplasia grade 2, and HPV16 (55.56%) and HPV18 (33.33%) were higher in cervical intraepithelial neplasia grade 3 or worse. Results from the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher education, menopause, and syphilis infection increased the HPV infection. Conclusions: The most common prevalence genotypes of HR-HPV among Kazak women were HPV16, HPV51, and HPV52. The infection rate of HR-HPV among Kazak women was correlated with education level, menopausal status, and syphilis infection. Measures should be taken targeting high-risk factors. This result suggests that STD patients and women aged 50 and above should be encouraged for screening.

[Development and achievements regarding the prevention and control of cervical cancer in the last 20 years in China]

Cervical cancer is the fourth common cancer in women globally, with the number of new cases accounted for 18.6% among all the cancer patients, in China. It is well known that the situation of prevention and control programs are quite challenging. Based on the efforts being made in the last 20 years, the etiology and carcinogenesis on cervical cancer had been clearly understood. Breakthroughs had been achieved in the development of prophylactic human papillomovirus vaccine and the technology of in screening. Various screening strategies are already available in areas with different economic status. Nevertheless, the capacity of health care services at the primary care clinics needs to be improved to narrow the gap between the reality and the demands.

[Comparison of high-risk human papillomavirus infection rate and genotype distribution between Han and Mongolian women]

Objective: To understand the infection rate and genotype distribution of high risk-human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) and the detection rate of different grades of cervical lesions in Han and Mongolian women in China and provide evidence for the development of screening and vaccination strategies for the prevention and control of cervical cancer in different ethnic groups. Methods: In June 2017, a multicenter, population-based study for cervical cancer screening in low-resource settings in China was conducted in three rural areas: Xiangyuan and Yangcheng counties in Shanxi province, and Etuoke county in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A total of 9 517 women aged 30-65 years were included in the study, and two cervical and vaginal secretion samples were collected from them for HPV and PCR-based HPV DNA tests. The positive samples in any of two tests were used for PCR-based HPV genotyping test by using Sansure-pioneered One-Step Fast Release technology. Women with positive results in any the HPV tests were referred for colposcopy and punch biopsy was given if cervical intraepithelial neoplasia lesion (low-grade lesion or worse) was suspected in colposcopy evaluation. Endocervical curettage was performed if women had an unsatisfactory colposcopy exam (the squamocolumnar junction was not completely visible). Pathological detection result was used as the golden standard of diagnosis. Results: HR-HPV infection rates in Han and Mongolian women were 21.83% (1 842/8 438) and 24.93% (269/1 079), respectively. There were statistical differences in HPV infection rates between the two ethnic groups (χ(2)=5.328, P=0.021). The detection rate of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 in Mongolian women (2.83%) was higher than that in Han women (0.87%), and the difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=33.509, P<0.001). There were no significant differences in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse detection rate between the two ethnic groups [Mongolian woman: 1.04% (11/1 059), Han Woman: 0.95% (80/8 378), χ(2)=0.069, P=0.793]. Among Han and Mongolian women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse, the three most common HR-HPV types were HPV16, HPV52 and HPV58. There was no significant difference for multiple infection rate between Han and Mongolian women (41.37% vs. 44.35%, χ(2)=0.764, P=0.382). Conclusions: The results show that HPV infection rate in Mongolian women was higher than that in Han women. Close attention should be paid to HPV16, 52 and 58 in the prevention and control of cervical cancer in Han and Mongolian women.

[Status of health examination on public health employees in Beijing]

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand the status of health examination on public health employees in Beijing, in order to further standardize the health management of the employees. Methods: Questionnaire surveys and personal interviews were produced to obtain the basic information, physical examination, occupational training, knowledge of health laws and regulations, and satisfaction of employees. Pairwise comparison was conducted by chi-square test. Multivariate linear regression was used for multivariate analysis. Results: The percentage of the public health employees who took the blood tests, X-ray examinations, fecal examinations, and skin examinations were 97.0%, 77.6%, 86.4%, and 51.0%, respectively. After excluding the skin examination, the completion rate of other examination items was 72.1%, and the difference of this rate between public hospitals and private hospitals were statistically significant (χ(2)=36.22, P<0.001; χ(2)=9.09, P=0.003; χ(2)=31.06, P<0.001). The percentage of correct answers to all the five questions was 3.2%, and age, working age and education level were positively correlated with knowledge scores of employees. Conclusions: The problems in Beijing's health examination of employees included poor examination quality, lack of supervision, inability to trace the source and low awareness rate of health knowledge, which suggested that counter measures should be taken immediately.

[Study on direct economic burden and influencing factors in patients with cervical cancer and precancerous lesions]

Objective: To account the direct cost of uterine cervix carcinoma treatment in China and to explore the related factors which influence the direct financial burden of the disease. Methods: Data was collected through the medical record system and telephone interviews in 14 county-level hospitals and 9 provincial and municipal hospitals from 14 provinces/municipalities enrolled in the Chinese National Health Industry Research Project in 2015. The direct financial burden of uterine cervix carcinoma treatment consisted of the direct medical cost and the direct non-medical cost of treatment in different pathological cervical cancer stages and precancerous lesions. Multiple liner regression method was used to analyze the factors affecting the costs. Results: The age of the 3 246 patients was (46.40±10.43) years, including 2 423 patients from provincial and municipal hospitals and 823 patients from county-level hospitals. The direct financial burden for one patient of pathological uterine cervix carcinoma stage or precancerous lesion ranged from 10 156.3 yuan to 75 716.4 yuan in provincial and municipal hospitals, and for patients from county-level hospitals, the cost was between 4 927.9 yuan and 47 524.8 yuan per person. There was a wide gap between the direct financial burden of patients in different disease stages. The direct financial burden of patients with precancerous lesions ranged from 4 927.9 yuan per person to 11 243.0 yuan per person, as for patients of pathological uterine cervix carcinoma stages, the direct financial burden was between 29 274.6 yuan and 75 716.4 yuan per person. The factors which influence direct financial burden would include: the levels of the hospital, pathological period, medicare reimbursement, days of treatment, and the methods of treatment (P<0.001). Conclusion: The direct financial burden of diseases in patients with pathological uterine cervix carcinoma stage or precancerous lesion differed in different levels of hospital and pathological periods. In addition, medicare reimbursement, days of treatment, and the methods of treatment all had impact on it.

[Research progression of prophylactic HPV vaccine application]

Prophylactic HPV vaccine was a milestone in the prevention and control of HPV-related diseases, especially cervical cancer. The first HPV vaccine has been marketed in the world for more than 10 years. The follow-up study of HPV vaccine clinical trials further confirms the effectiveness and safety. Since HPV vaccine had been introduced into more and more national immunization programs, the population-level effectiveness of HPV vaccine was increasingly proved: Reduced the incidence of HPV infection, genital warts and high-grade precancerous lesions, and improved the herd immunity effect among non-vaccinated populations. However, improvement of the coverage of HPV vaccine, especially in low-and-middle income countries, is the major challenge in putting the HPV vaccine into practice.

[Risk stratification of type-specific human papillomavirus for cervical precancers: evidence from a cross-sectional study in Shenzhen]

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological genotype features of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical infection and their risks for cervical precancers among women in Shenzhen area. Methods: A total of 2 717 individuals ranging in age from 30~59 years were recruited in 18 community health centers of Shenzhen city from March 1 to June 15, 2015 by a cluster sampling method. The results of genotype of HPV, liquid-based cytology (LBC), colposcopy and pathology were analyzed. The clinical sensitivity and specificity as well as positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values of the combination of different HPV genotype in screening the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2 and above were estimated. Results: The HPV infection rate in Shenzhen area was 15.9% (432/2 717). The most common HPV genotype was HPV52 (22.9%), followed by HPV16 (12.7%), HPV53 (10.0%), HPV51 (8.6%) and HPV58 (8.1%). Compared with HPV16/18 genotyping, HPV33/16 genotyping had a higher sensitivity (57.1% vs. 42.9%, P<0.05) and an analogous specificity (87.3% vs. 86.9%, P>0.05) in predicting CIN2+ . The sensitivity of combination of HPV33/16 genotyping and low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) positive tested by LBC in predicting CIN2+ was 75.0%, significantly higher than 64.3% of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) positive tested by LBC alone (P<0.05). The specificities of these two methods mentioned above in predicting CIN2+ were 83.5% and 89.2%, respectively, without statistical difference (P>0.05). Conclusions: Women infected by HPV have distinct risks for CIN2+ according to different high-risk HPV genotypes. The top five risks were HPV 33, 16, 58, 56, and 68. HPV-positive women triaged by LBC LSIL+ combined with HPV33/16 genotyping may be a potential strategy for cervical cancer screening in developed urban area.

VALHUDES: A protocol for validation of human papillomavirus assays and collection devices for HPV testing on self-samples and urine samples

BACK GROUND

Systematic reviews have concluded that hrHPV DNA testing using target-amplification tests is as accurate on vaginal self-samples as on clinician-taken specimens for the detection of cervical precancer. However, insufficient evidence is available for specific HPV assay/self-sample device combinations.

OBJECTIVES

The VALHUDES protocol is designed as a diagnostic test accuracy study that aims to compare the clinical sensitivity and specificity of particular hrHPV assay(s) on vaginal self-samples and first-void-urine, collected in agreement with standardized protocols, with hrHPV testing on matched clinician-taken samples.

STUDY DESIGN

Five hundred enrolled women referred to a colposcopy clinic are invited to collect a first-void urine sample and one or more vaginal self-samples with particular devices before collection of a cervical sample by a clinician. Sample sets are subsequently analysed in a laboratory accredited for HPV testing. Disease verification for all enrolled patients is provided by colposcopy combined with histological assessment of biopsies.

RESULTS

A first VALHUDES study has started in Belgium in December 2017 with enrolment from four colposcopy centres. The following assays are foreseen to be evaluated: RealTime High Risk HPV assay (Abbott), cobas-4800 and -6800 (Roche), Onclarity (BD), Xpert HPV (Cepheid) and Anyplex II HPV HR (Seegene).

CONCLUSION

Given empirical evidence that the relative accuracy of HPV-testing on self- vs clinician-samples is robust across clinical settings, the VALHUDES protocol offers a framework for validation of HPV assay/self-sample device combinations that can be translated to a primary screening setting.

[Role of HPV viral loads in random biopsy under normal colposcopy]

Objective: To explore the role of HPV viral loads in random biopsy under normal colposcopy. Methods: 908 atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) and HPV positive women, recruited in cluster sampling in 9 provinces including 5 urban areas and 9 rural areas in China from 1999 to 2008 and meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this analysis. According to relative light units/cutoff (RLU/CO) value, subjects were stratified as low (286 cases), intermediate (311 cases) and high (311 cases) viral load groups. Risks of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) among different viral load groups were compared with linear trend Chi-square test. Results: Detection rate of CIN3+ in low, intermediate and high viral load groups were 2.1% (6 cases), 2.6% (8 cases) and 6.8% (21 cases) (Chi-square test for trend χ(2)=8.91, P=0.003) and were 60.3, 74.0 and 201.3 times higher than ASC-US and HPV negative women, respectively. Among 908 subjects, 27.0% (245 cases) were abnormal under colposcopy and 68.6% (623 cases) diagnosed as normal. Under normal colposcopy, detection rate of CIN3+ in low, intermediate and high viral load groups were 0.9% (2 cases), 0.9% (2 cases) and 3.8% (7 cases) (χ(2)=6.42, P=0.040). Conclusion: HPV viral loads display satisfactory risk stratification ability among ASC-US and HPV positive women under normal colposcopy. Women with high HPV viral loads show a significantly increased detection rate of existing CIN3+ and could be recommended to perform random biopsy for histologic diagnosis.

[Distribution and associated factors of high-risk HPV genotypes infection among HPV-positive women who participated cervical screening test in Shenzhen, 2014-2016, China]

Objective: To analyze the distribution and associated factors of high-risk genotypes of HPV in cervical infection among women in Shenzhen. Methods: The information on sociodemographic characteristics and HPV genotypes of HPV-positive women who participated cervical screening test from January 2014 to December 2016 was downloaded from Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Management Information System. According to the pathogenicity, the high-risk HPV genotypes were divided into 15 types including HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68; and there were 6 low-risk genotypes including HPV 6, 11, 42, 43, 44, and 81. Chi-square tests were applied to compare the proportions of high-risk HPV infection among women who had different sociodemographic characteristics. A non-conditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the associated factors for high-risk HPV infection. Results: In total, all HIV positives received HPV genotyping, with an average age of (38.08±9.38) years old. There were 9 979 (93.9%) high-risk and 645 (6.1%) low-risk HPV infections. The proportions of HPV infections for high-risk type in each year were 91.5%, 93.8%, and 95.6%, increasing with the screening years (χ(2)=54.79, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with women younger than 25 years old, women in other age groups (at age 26 to 30 years, 31 to 35 years, 36 to 40 years, 41 to 45 years, and 50 years or older) had increased risks of high-risk HPV infection, with OR (95%CI) of 1.67 (1.20-2.31), 1.49 (1.09-2.03), 1.71 (1.23-2.37), 1.65 (1.19-2.31), and 1.84 (1.26-2.67), respectively; compared with the married, single women had a decreased risk of high-risk HPV infection (OR (95%CI): 0.71 (0.50-1.00)); women received HPV testing in 2015 and 2016 showed higher risk of high-risk HPV infection than those in 2014 (OR (95%CI): 1.43 (1.17-1.74) and 2.03 (1.68-2.46)). The 5 most common HPV genotypes were HPV52 (25.1%, 2 670 cases), followed by HPV16 (19.2%, 2 041 cases), HPV58 (13.3%, 1 413 cases), HPV18 (9.9%, 1 048 cases), and HPV51 (9.3%, 993 cases). Conclusion: Age, marital status, and screening year were associated with high-risk HPV infections. Besides HPV16 and HPV18, the prevention and control on HPV infections for HPV52, HPV58, and HPV51 should be prioritized in Shenzhen area.

[Research progress of HPV therapeutic vaccine]

Bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccine have been approved by CFDA successively in China. However, currently available prophylactic vaccines have no therapeutic effect for established infection or disease. In recent years, based on the application of genomics and proteomics for interpretation of tumor antigen, animal experiments and clinical trials of vaccines aiming at a wide variety of antigens have been conducted. In this review, we summarize about the preclinical and clinical research status of HPV therapeutic vaccine and find that the efficacy of HPV therapeutic vaccine alone or combined with other conventional cancer treatment is satisfying, which has potential clinical application value. As the further research of tumor immune regulation and optimization of strategies for the HPV therapeutic vaccine, the vaccine will play an important role in improving the quality of life in cancer patients and eventually become widely used in clinical practice.

[Changes in genotype prevalence of human papillomavirus over 10-year follow-up of a cervical cancer screening cohort]

Objective: To evaluate the dynamic variation of genotypes distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) over 10-year follow-up in a cervical cancer screening cohort. Methods: Based on the Shanxi Province Cervical Cancer Screening Study Ⅰ cohort, we detected HPV genotypes on the well-preserved exfoliated cervical cells from women who were tested HPV positive from year 2005 to year 2014 using reverse linear probe hybridization assay. The changes of prevalence of type-specific HPV over time among the overall population were estimated using linear mixed models. The association between the type-specific HPV and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2 +) was calculated by linear Chi-square test. Finally, the trends of multiple infections of HPV with the increase of the age were analyzed. Results: During the cervical cancer screening of the overall population from 2005 to 2014, the most common genotypes among the population were HPV16 and 52. The prevalence of HPV16 decreased over time from 4.6% in 2005 to 2.2% in 2010 and 2014 (F=8.125, P<0.001). The prevalence of HPV52 remained pretty stable and HPV33, 51 and 58 slightly decreased then apparently increased. Further stratification analysis by pathological lesions showed the same trend of the HPV prevalence for the histology normal women with the overall population. Of note, for those women with the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2 +), the detection rate of HPV16 decreased from 65.22% in 2005 to 41.03% in 2010 and finally to 31.58% in 2014 (χ(2)=4.420, P=0.036) and that of HPV33 substantially increased. No significant variation was found for other types of HPV. Multiple infection rate varied with the growing age of the women. Conclusions: The genotypes prevalence of HPV tended to vary over time during cervical cancer screening in the context of regular screening combining with immediate treatment for those CIN2 + women. HPV16 prevalence significantly decreased over time, which indicated that the variation of type-specific HPV prevalence should be considered when regular cervical cancer screening was organized using HPV technique.

Use of an expanded gold standard to estimate the accuracy of colposcopy and visual inspection with acetic acid

We estimate the accuracy of colposcopy and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) while minimizing the effects of misclassification bias, and maximizing ascertainment of disease. VIA was performed by experienced physicians on a population-based sample of women aged 30 to 49 years in rural Shanxi province, China. Each woman received VIA, liquid-based cytology (LBC) and hybrid capture 2 (hc2, QIAGEN, Gaithersburg, MD; formerly Digene Corporation). Any woman who tested positive on any test had colposcopy, endocervical curettage (ECC) with directed biopsies as necessary and 4-quadrant random biopsies from normal-appearing areas of the cervix. A standard diagnosis based on colposcopy and directed biopsy, and an expanded diagnosis including ECC and 4-quadrant random biopsy were generated for each woman. In 1,839 women, use of the expanded versus the standard diagnostic criteria increased the prevalence of histologically confirmed high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer (CIN2+) from 3.2% (59/1,839) to 4.2% (77/1,839) and decreased the sensitivity of VIA for CIN2+ from 69.5% (95% CI: 56.8-79.8) to 58.4% (95% CI: 47.3-68.8%) with little change in specificity of approximately 89%. Compared with the expanded diagnostic criterion, the sensitivity of a visual diagnosis of high-grade CIN or cancer by a colposcopist was 49.4% (95% CI: 38.2-60.5). The use of an expanded diagnostic criterion in this study yielded more conservative estimates of the sensitivity of VIA and colposcopy.

Shanxi Province cervical cancer screening study II: Self-sampling for high-risk human papillomavirus compared to direct sampling for human papillomavirus and liquid based cervical cytology

The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of a new method for self-sampling for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with direct sampling and liquid based cervical cytology. In Shanxi Province, China, 8,497 women (ages 27-56) underwent a self-sample for HPV using a conical-shaped brush placed into the upper vagina and rotated. Three to sixteen months later the women were screened with liquid-based cytology and direct HPV tests. Subjects with any abnormal test underwent colposcopy and multiple biopsies. Mean age was 40.9 years. 4.4 percent of subjects had >or=CIN II, 26% a positive self-sample and 24% a positive direct test for HPV. The sensitivity for detection of >or=CIN II was 87.5% for self-sampling, and 96.8% for the direct test (P < 0.001). The specificity was 77.2% for the self-sample and 79.7% for the direct test. With an abnormal Pap defined as ASCUS or greater the sensitivity of the Pap for the detection of >CIN II was 88.3% and the specificity was 81.2%. We conclude that self-sampling for HPV is less sensitive for >CIN II than the direct test, but similar to liquid based cytology.

Shanxi Province cervical cancer screening study II: Self-sampling for high-risk human papillomavirus compared to direct sampling for human papillomavirus and liquid based cervical cytology

The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of a new method for self-sampling for high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with direct sampling and liquid based cervical cytology. In Shanxi Province, China, 8,497 women (ages 27–56) underwent a self-sample for HPV using a conical-shaped brush placed into the upper vagina and rotated. Three to sixteen months later the women were screened with liquid-based cytology and direct HPV tests. Subjects with any abnormal test underwent colposcopy and multiple biopsies. Mean age was 40.9 years. 4.4 percent of subjects had ≥CIN II, 26% a positive self-sample and 24% a positive direct test for HPV. The sensitivity for detection of ≥CIN II was 87.5% for self-sampling, and 96.8% for the direct test (P < 0.001). The specificity was 77.2% for the self-sample and 79.7% for the direct test. With an abnormal Pap defined as ASCUS or greater the sensitivity of the Pap for the detection of ≥ CIN II was 88.3% and the specificity was 81.2%. We conclude that self-sampling for HPV is less sensitive for ≥ CIN II than the direct test, but similar to liquid based cytology.

[Status of screening tests for cervical cancer and its precancerous lesion]

Several screening methods for cervical cancer and its precancerous lesion are reviewed. Cervical cancer screening using visual inspection, colposcopy, oncogenic human papillomavirus DNA testing, liquid-based monolayers and automated Pap smear screening instruments are all potentially valuable when used alone or in combination. Newly developed techniques provide an opportunity to extend practical cervical cancer screening to large population in limited resource areas, and help do more cost-effectiveness of screening tests in high risk population.