STEP-2 Trial of Cervical Cancer Screening Interventions Joins the NIH Collaboratory

The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory has recently included the STEP-2 trial (Self-Testing for Cervical Cancer in Priority Populations) in its collection of innovative NIH Collaboratory Trials. This initiative comes in response to the concerning statistic that only half of eligible patients in US federally qualified health centers were screened for cervical cancer in 2021, a situation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The STEP-2 trial will explore the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of distributing human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling kits through various methods, including in-clinic distribution, in-clinic plus mailed distribution, and usual care. This study will be conducted in federally qualified health centers across Oregon and Washington, supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute.

Leading the STEP-2 trial are principal investigators Rachel Winer, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington; Amanda Petrik, an investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; and Jasmin Tiro, a professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago. Their work aims to significantly improve cervical cancer screening rates among underserved populations by making screening more accessible and convenient.