Health Council advises HPV self-test for cervical cancer screening

Women who receive an invitation to participate in the population screening for cervical cancer must also immediately be sent a self-test kit for HPV. This can serve as an equivalent alternative to going for a pap smear at the GP, the Health Council said in an advisory report on improving the screening.

About 800 women a year are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and one in four dies from it. By lowering the threshold for participation in the population screening with self-tests, more cases of cervical cancer can be detected early.

Sending a self-sampling test can significantly lower the threshold for women to participate in the population screening, the Health Council believes. "With the set, a woman can take material from the vagina herself. Just like the smear that the doctor takes, that material is tested in the laboratory for types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that carry a high risk of developing cervical cancer."