New Evidence Builds Case for HPV Testing After Borderline Pap Results.

2002 FEB 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New results from the largest cervical cancer screening management trial in the United States to date confirm that HPV testing, using Digene Corp.'s Hybrid Capture 2 HPV DNA Test, is an effective way to manage women in high-risk age groups who have abnormal Pap test results known as ASCUS (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance) (See also Women's Health Weekly, Jan. 28, 2002).

The study shows that HPV testing was "highly sensitive" in detecting high-grade cervical disease and resulted in "dramatically fewer referrals" to follow-up procedures for such women, as compared with traditional screening methods. The findings are from the ASCUS/LSIL Triage Study (ALTS) conducted by the National Cancer Institute and published in the January 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The new NCI data show that, for women age 29 and older, the sensitivity of Digene's Hybrid Capture 2 HPV DNA Test was 96% in identifying high-grade cervical disease and referred only 31% of women to a follow-up colposcopy. In contrast, for women in the same age group, a repeat Pap test referred 50% of the women to colposcopy and was less sensitive (91%) for detecting underlying cervical disease. Earlier results from the ALTS study had confirmed the higher sensitivity of the HPV test in detecting ...