MIMS HPV Pilot Study All 58 women test negative in Arkalguda village

As January is recognised as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, the Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS), under the Share Medical Care Foundation, launched a pilot programme to screen women for cervical cancer in Arkalguda village, Medchal district. The initiative aims to promote early detection and prevention of the disease.  
The project was initiated due to alarming statistics from the Global Cancer Observatory (2022), which reported an estimated 14,13,316 new cases and 9,16,827 deaths due to cervical cancer. India’s high burden of the disease is linked to a lack of awareness, limited screening access, and inadequate treatment services.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has proposed a global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem.  
According to Dr Kalpana Basani of the Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences, “A pilot study was conducted in Arkalguda village in Medchal district. Based on the database, 93 women were to be contacted. Of these, 2 women refused participation, 16 were ineligible due to prior hysterectomy, one had passed away, and 15 houses were vacant. HPV DNA self-collected swabs were taken from 58 women, with all test results returning negative. Most of the participants were between 36 to 45 years old. Additionally, 72 per cent of the women were housewives, but only 5.17 per cent had a previous history of cervical screening.”  
 Eligible women, aged 25 to 65, who were non-pregnant, not menstruating and mentally competent, were recruited through house-to-house visits. A printed consent form was read aloud, and participants were given the opportunity to ask questions before providing informed consent. Following this, women responded to an interviewer-administered questionnaire assessing demographic, reproductive, and contraceptive history.  
A video in the local language guided participants on self-sampling procedures, with field staff assisting in self-vaginal swab collection. The collected samples were transported to MediCiti Hospital in Universal Transport Medium for point-of-care testing. The test detects HPV genotypes 16, 18, 31, and 45. Women testing positive would be contacted at home and provided with hospital transport for further examination but none required it.