Evaluation of the multiple HPV-based “screen and triage” algorithms in real-world settings of rural China

Drawbacks of human papillomavirus (HPV) primary screening, including high referral rates and low specificity, highlight the necessity for triage strategies to balance the screening benefits with potential harms.

A cross-sectional, population-based diagnostic study was conducted in rural Xinjiang, China involving 8,638 women ≥ 25 years of age who participated in organized cervical cancer screening between 2023 and 2024. The study evaluated the accuracy and efficiency of multiple HPV-based “screen-triage” strategies. Histologically confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+ and CIN3+) served as disease outcomes.

Among single-step triage strategies, only extended genotyping for the seven most carcinogenic HPV types (HPV16/18/31/33/45/52/58) maintained sensitivity for CIN2+ comparable to HPV screening without triage (90.0% vs. 92.5%, P = 0.50) but significantly improved specificity (94.7% vs. 90.8%, P < 0.001). This approach led to a 38% reduction in colposcopy referrals (relative rate, 0.62; 95% CI: 0.59–0.65). Two-step triage algorithms (HPV16/18 with reflex ASC-US+ or methylation) showed slightly lower but non-significant sensitivity (87.5%, P = 0.13/89.6%, P =0.50) than HPV primary screening without triage, yet achieved significantly increased specificity (> 95%, P < 0.001) and reduced colposcopy referral by ~50% (relative rate, 0.5; P < 0.001). If negative for cytology or methylation, women positive for 12 high-risk HPV types (excluding HPV16/18) had a < 2% risk of CIN2+ (CIN3+ risk < 1%), indicating delayed follow-up.

Focusing on the seven high-risk HPV types within a one-step “screen-triage” framework effectively balances minimal sensitivity loss with significant gains in specificity, reducing unnecessary referrals and treatments, especially valuable in resource-limited settings. Integrating HPV genotyping with methylation results improves the accurate identification of women requiring immediate referral, which is advisable when resources allow.