Performance of vaginal self-sampling for human papillomavirus testing among women living with HIV in Botswana.

BACKGROUND

: In Botswana, where HIV prevalence remains high, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Multiple organizations recommend high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) testing as a screening tool, however, high coverage may not be feasible with provider-collected samples. We conducted the first assessment of self- versus provider-collected samples for hr-HPV testing in HIV-positive women in Botswana and report prevalence of hr-HPV and histological outcomes.

METHODS

: We recruited HIV-positive women ≥25 years attending an HIV clinic in Gaborone. Self- and provider-collected samples from participants were tested for hr-HPV using Cepheid GeneXpert. Women testing positive for any hr-HPV returned for colposcopy. We used unweighted κ statistics to determine hr-HPV agreement.

RESULTS

: Thirty-one (30%) of 103 women tested positive for any hr-HPV. The most common genotypes were HPV 31/33/35/52/58. Overall agreement between self- and provider-collected samples for any hr-HPV was 92% with a κ of 0.80. Ten of the 30 hr-HPV positive women attending colposcopy had CIN 2+ (33%).

CONCLUSIONS

: In this HIV-positive population, hr-HPV prevalence was 30%, with excellent agreement between self and provider samples. Self-sampling may play an important role in screening programs in high HIV burden settings with limited resources like Botswana.