NCI Launches Cervical Cancer 'Last Mile' Initiative to Expand Screening Access

Cervical cancer, primarily caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), is highly preventable through vaccination and early detection. However, over half of the cervical cancer cases in the United States are diagnosed in individuals who have never been screened or are screened infrequently. Barriers to screening include socioeconomic disparities, geographic inaccessibility, cultural issues, personal preferences, and physical disabilities.

The NCI's Cervical Cancer 'Last Mile' Initiative aims to overcome these barriers by promoting self-collection of vaginal samples for HPV testing, a method that can be done at home and sent to a laboratory. This approach has the potential to significantly reduce cancer health disparities by expanding access to screening for those who are never or under-screened.

Key activities of the initiative include facilitating discussions for regulatory approvals of self-collection methods, supporting the SHIP Trial to evaluate self-collection devices and HPV assays, and disseminating evidence to inform clinical practice. The SHIP Trial, expected to begin participant enrollment in Summer 2024, will involve 25 clinical sites across the U.S. and will evaluate multiple self-collection device-assay combinations.

Industry partners, including Becton Dickinson and Company, Roche Molecular Systems, and Abbott, are collaborating on the SHIP Trial by providing self-collection kits and assays. The trial's findings will be crucial for the FDA's review of self-collection devices, aiming to ensure their usability, acceptability, accuracy, and effectiveness before widespread use in the U.S.

The 'Last Mile' Initiative represents a significant step forward in the fight against cervical cancer, with the ultimate goal of reducing the incidence of the disease through improved access to screening.