In-Person Offers Most Effective for Self-Sampling Cervical Cancer Screening

MONDAY, Aug. 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- In-person offers of self-sampling cervical cancer screening kits are most effective, according to a study published online July 29 in eClinicalMedicine.Anita W.W. Lim, Ph.D., from the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial offering self-sampling for cervical screening. General practitioner (GP) practices were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to flagging women at least six months overdue for cervical screening so that they could be offered a self-sampling kit if they visited their GP for any other reason or not to receive an opportunistic offer (6,080 and 6,577 women, respectively). In addition, never-screened women and those overdue by 15 or 27 months were randomly assigned to usual care (no systematic offer), a letter inviting them to order a kit (LETTER), or being sent a self-sampling kit (KIT) in a 2:1:1 ratio.The researchers found that 5.6 percent of women in opportunistic offer practices returned a self-sample, compared with 1.9 percent in practices not randomly assigned to opportunistic offering (adjusted risk difference, 4.4 percent). Half (234 of 449) of those offered self-sampling opportunistically returned a sample. Of the 6,400 women randomly assigned to no systematic offer versus LETTER versus KIT, 1.7, 4.8, and 12.3 percent, respectively, returned a self-sample. In the secondary outcome of any cervical cancer screening, these observed differences were maintained. There were no reports of adverse events."This study reinforces that many women welcome the option -- particularly when it's offered in person by a trusted health care professional," Lim said in a statement. "A simple change like this could have a major impact on preventing cervical cancer."In-kind support from Copan Italia S.p.A was provided in the form of provision of the 552C.80 FLOQSwab for the study.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter