For HPV-Positive Women, Test Can Guide Cervical Cancer Screening Follow-Up
, by DCEG Staff
Dual stain testing on Pap test samples identifies the presence of two proteins: p16 (brown) and Ki-67 (red).
A new test can help to improve the clinical management of women who screen positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in routine cervical cancer screening, an NCI-led study has shown.
The test, called p16/Ki-67 dual stain, more accurately predicted whether an HPV-positive woman would go on to develop cervical precancer within five years, compared to a Pap test—the current standard for managing HPV-positive women.
As HPV testing becomes more central to cervical cancer screening, “the challenge is how to best manage, or triage, HPV-positive women,” said senior investigator Nicolas Wentzensen, M.D., Ph.D., of NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG).