Pap smears uncomfortable? Self-collection expected by fall

(NewsNation) — Cervical cancer screenings may feel less daunting for some by fall, as two companies roll out self-collection kits for use in professional medical settings.

The kits will allow patients to swab their own cervixes during screenings for primary human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. The process involves patients inserting a swab about 3 inches into their vagina and handing it off to a medical professional for testing.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May approved self-collection kits from pharmaceutical companies Roche and Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD).

“We anticipate self-collection in a health-care setting will play an increasingly prominent role in cervical cancer screening once regulatory and clinical prerequisites are in place and as supporting evidence continues to accumulate,” Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society, said in an official statement at the time.

The option for self-collection could encourage more people to receive timely, necessary testing. Anxiety about medical tests, concerns about pain, financial costs, lack of time and not understanding the importance of screenings are among the main reasons women skip or delay them, according to an April 2024 Gallup/Hologic Global Women’s Health Index survey.    

That gap was most evident in screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, which collectively kill more than 70,000 women in the U.S. each year. Inadequate communication with health care professionals and concerns about emotional health also contributed to missed screenings, the survey suggests.

A traditional Pap test requires patients to lie down on their backs with their feet in stirrups. A doctor then places a tool called a speculum into the patient’s vagina to hold its walls apart for a view of the cervix. Finally, they use a soft brush and a small stick to collect a sample by scraping cells from the cervix.

Although the collection process is generally painless, the speculum may cause feelings of cramping or pressure.

BD expects to begin shipping its kits to medical facilities in September, while Roche’s will likely become available later this fall, company spokespeople told The New York Times.

Home-testing — a longer-term goal — is still under FDA review for use in the U.S.