Feasibility and acceptability of human papillomavirus self-sampling compared with clinician sampling in urban areas of western China: a cross-sectional survey

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Introduction: Cervical cancer, driven by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection, remains a global health challenge, especially in low- and middle-income areas such as western China. Despite the critical role of HPV testing in early detection, coverage in China remains low due to cultural, psychological, and other barriers. Self-collected urine and vaginal samples offer alternative methods for sample collection. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of detecting hrHPV and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) via urine and vaginal self-sampling compared with clinician sampling in urban areas of western China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2022 to March 2023 in urban areas of western China. The participants provided self-collected urine and vaginal samples for hrHPV testing and completed questionnaires on acceptability of self-sampling. The HPV positivity, agreement, and kappa value were calculated to assess concordance between self- and clinician sampling. The sensitivity, specificity, agreement, predictive values, and likelihood ratios were used to evaluate the clinical performance of both methods for detecting CIN2+. Results: A total of 2,228 female subjects aged 21-71 years were recruited, and self-collected urine samples, vaginal samples, and clinician-collected cervical samples were obtained. The sensitivity of clinician sampling, urine self-sampling and vaginal self-sampling were 80.00% (95% CI: 44.22-96.46), 70.00% (95% CI: 35.37-91.91) and 90.00% (95% CI: 54.12-99.48) for CIN2+; the specificity for <CIN2 were 98.33% (95% CI: 97.68-98.81), 98.23% (95% CI: 97.56-98.72) and 98.50% (95% CI: 97.87-98.95%); and the agreements for CIN2+ were 98.25% (95% CI: 97.59-98.74), 98.83 (95% CI: 98.26-99.22) and 98.82 (95% CI: 98.25-99.21). All methods yielded high negative predictive values, high positive likelihood ratios, and low negative likelihood ratios. Additionally, participants reported high acceptability of self-sampling, citing less discomfort and embarrassment than clinician sampling. Conclusion: Self-collected urine and vaginal samples for the detection of hrHPV and CIN2+ demonstrate high diagnostic accuracy and acceptability, making them viable alternatives to clinician-collected samples. Self-sampling methods may improve screening accessibility and compliance, especially in resource-limited settings, thereby supporting the prevention and early detection of CIN2+.