2026 · The Journal of molecular diagnostics : JMD · paywalled
Clinical Validation of the Roche cobas and cobas 4800 Human Papillomavirus Tests on Self-Collected Vaginal Dry Swabs versus Practitioner-Collected Cervical Specimens Using the VALHUDES Protocol
Hawkes et al.
The finding, in our words
This study found that self-collected vaginal dry swabs provided noninferior sensitivity for detecting high-grade cervical lesions compared to practitioner-collected samples, although specificity was lower.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
For decentralised testing, a study found dry vaginal self-samples using Copan FLOQSwabs stored up to two weeks at room temperature maintain DNA quality. However, first-void urine collected with the Colli-Pee device may be less sensitive for HPV detection, showing lower positivity and higher cycle threshold values, median Ct 30 versus 27 for other samples.
Chu et al., BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · source ↗
A Romanian pilot of 960 women demonstrated that self-collected cervicovaginal samples using a veil device yielded valid HPV results in 97.7% and STI results in 97.4% of cases, with ambient temperature stability removing cold-chain logistics. This validates the device as a feasible, scalable tool for decentralized cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infection screening programmes.
Ciuhodaru et al., Diagnostics (paywalled) · source ↗
This meta-analysis found that HPV testing using self-collected vaginal and urine samples showed sensitivities of 88.6% and 81% for detecting cervical precancer. Using a standardised device for first-void urine increased sensitivity to 86.6%, supporting decentralised patient-centric screening, though data on specificity and specific commercial devices were not consistently reported.
Hsiao et al., The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research (paywalled) · source ↗
This meta-analysis found that self-collected urine samples for HPV testing had lower sensitivity for detecting high-grade lesions compared to physician-collected cervical specimens. The use of a first-void collection device such as Colli-Pee was associated with marginally higher sensitivity than general urine sampling.
Chen et al., Journal of lower genital tract disease (paywalled) · source ↗
Vaginal self-sampling achieved higher pooled sensitivity and specificity than urine self-sampling for detecting high-risk HPV, making it the preferred option, while urine self-sampling remains a useful non-invasive choice for under-screened populations.