502 A study of HPV self-sampling in Northeast India: an assessment of accuracy and feasibility

Introduction/Background WHO recommends HPV self-sampling as a safe and highly accepted additional strategy in cervical cancer screening for women aged 30–60 years. Currently, no research on HPV self-sampling has been conducted in Northeast India. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy, acceptability, and women's experience of HPV self-sampling compared to healthcare provider collection. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, from June 2022 to June 2023 for women aged 30–65 years. HPV self-sampling was performed using digene HC2 DNA collection device prior to physician-collected HPV on the same day. Samples were preserved in GYN solution (Celltra Zone) stored at -20 degree centigrade and analysed by Hybrid capture technique. Results The study included 168 women, all the samples collected were adequate for evaluation, out of the 168 women, 26% women used contraceptive, 21% used hormonal contraceptive and 5% used barrier method and IUCD. Out of the total 168 women, 63% of women preferred self-collection, 23% preferred physician-collection, 13% had no preference, 6% reported painful experience and 6% encountered difficulty with self-sampling. Positive rate of health care collected sample was 44% and self-collected samples was 49%. Rate of samples positive for both self-collected and health care collected sample was 35%. The accuracy of HPV self-sampling was 99.0%., for the next screening 63% would choose HPV self-sampling at home. Conclusion HPV self-sampling is accurate and highly acceptable in the Northeastern Indian women and can be implemented in the screening programmes. Disclosures This study is funded by NCDIR/ICMR.