Extended Human Papillomavirus Genotyping to Predict Progression to High-Grade Cervical Precancer: A Prospective Cohort Study in the Southeastern United States.

BACKGROUND: High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing is utilized in primary cervical cancer screening, generally along with cytology, to triage abnormalities to colposcopy. Most screening-based hrHPV testing involves pooled detection of any hrHPV or of HPV16/18. Cervical neoplasia progression risks based on extended hrHPV genotyping-particularly non-16/18 hrHPV types-are not well characterized. HPV genotype-specific incidence of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or more severe (CIN2+) following an abnormal screening result was examined. METHODS: We assessed a US-based prospective, multiracial, clinical cohort of 343 colposcopy patients with normal histology (n = 226) or CIN1 (n = 117). Baseline cervical samples underwent HPV DNA genotyping, and participants were followed up to 5 years. Genotype-specific CIN2+ incidence rates (IR) were estimated with accelerated failure time models. Five-year CIN2+ risks were estimated nonparametrically for hierarchical hrHPV risk groups (HPV16; else HPV18/45; else HPV31/33/35/52/58; else HPV39/51/56/59/68). RESULTS: At enrollment, median participant age was 30.1 years; most (63%) were hrHPV-positive. Over follow-up, 24 participants progressed to CIN2+ (7.0%). CIN2+ IR among hrHPV-positive participants was 3.4/1,000 person-months. CIN2+ IRs were highest for HPV16 (8.3), HPV33 (7.8), and HPV58 (4.9). Five-year CIN2+ risk was higher for HPV16 (0.34) compared with HPV18/45 (0.12), HPV31/33/35/52/58 (0.12), and HPV39/51/56/59/68 (0.16) (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Non-16/18 hrHPV types are associated with differential CIN2+ progression rates. HPV16, 33, and 58 exhibited the highest rates over 5 years. HPV risk groups warrant further investigation in diverse US populations. IMPACT: These novel data assessing extended HPV genotyping in a diverse clinical cohort can inform future directions to improve screening practices in the general population.

A novel speculum-free imaging strategy for visualization of the internal female lower reproductive system.

Fear of the speculum and feelings of vulnerability during the gynecologic exams are two of the biggest barriers to cervical cancer screening for women. To address these barriers, we have developed a novel, low-cost tool called the Callascope to reimagine the gynecological exam, enabling clinician and self-imaging of the cervix without the need for a speculum. The Callascope contains a 2 megapixel camera and contrast agent spray mechanism housed within a form factor designed to eliminate the need for a speculum during contrast agent administration and image capture. Preliminary bench testing for comparison of the Callascope camera to a $20,000 high-end colposcope demonstrated that the Callascope camera meets visual requirements for cervical imaging. Bench testing of the spray mechanism demonstrates that the contrast agent delivery enables satisfactory administration and cervix coverage. Clinical studies performed at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA and in Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Accra, Ghana assessed (1) the Callascope's ability to visualize the cervix compared to the standard-of-care speculum exam, (2) the feasibility and willingness of women to use the Callascope for self-exams, and (3) the feasibility and willingness of clinicians and their patients to use the Callascope for clinician-based examinations. Cervix visualization was comparable between the Callascope and speculum (83% or 44/53 women vs. 100%) when performed by a clinician. Visualization was achieved in 95% (21/22) of women who used the Callascope for self-imaging. Post-exam surveys indicated that participants preferred the Callascope to a speculum-based exam. Our results indicate the Callascope is a viable option for clinician-based and self-exam speculum-free cervical imaging.Clinical study registration ClinicalTrials.gov https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/ NCT00900575, Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR) https://www.pactr.org/ PACTR201905806116817.

Extended HPV Genotyping to Compare HPV Type Distribution in Self- and Provider-Collected Samples for Cervical Cancer Screening.

BACKGROUND: Primary high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) testing of self-collected cervico-vaginal swabs could increase cervical cancer screening coverage, although triage strategies are needed to reduce unnecessary colposcopies. We evaluated the use of extended hr-HPV genotyping of self-collected samples for cervical cancer screening. METHODS: We recruited women ages 25-65 years at two colposcopy clinics in North Carolina between November 2016 and January 2019, and obtained self-collected cervico-vaginal samples, provider-collected cervical samples, and cervical biopsies from all enrolled women. Self- and provider-collected samples were tested for 14 hr-HPV genotypes using the Onclarity Assay (Becton Dickinson). We calculated hr-HPV genotype-specific prevalence and assessed agreement between results in self- and provider-collected samples. We ranked the hr-HPV genotypes according to their positive predictive value (PPV) for the detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 2 or higher (CIN2+). RESULTS: A total of 314 women participated (median age, 36 years); 85 women (27%) had CIN2+. More women tested positive for any hr-HPV on self-collected (76%) than on provider-collected samples (70%; P = 0.009) with type-specific agreement ranging from substantial to almost perfect. HPV-16 was the most common genotype in self-collected (27%) and provider-collected samples (20%), and HPV-16 prevalence was higher in self- than provider-collected samples (P < 0.001). In self- and provider-collected samples, HPV-16 had the highest PPV for CIN2+ detection. CONCLUSIONS: Overall sensitivity for CIN2+ detection was similar for both sample types, but the higher HPV-16 prevalence in self-collected samples could result in increased colposcopy referral rates. IMPACT: Additional molecular markers might be helpful to improve the triage of women who are hr-HPV positive on self-collected samples.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Acceptability of Urine and Cervico-Vaginal Sample Self-Collection for HPV-Based Cervical Cancer Screening.

Background: We compared women's acceptability of urine and cervico-vaginal sample self-collection for high-risk (oncogenic) human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing and assessed whether acceptability varied across racial/ethnic groups. Methods: As part of a test accuracy study of urine-based hrHPV testing, we recruited a convenience sample of women 25-65 years of age at two colposcopy clinics in North Carolina between November 2016 and January 2019. After self-collection of urine and cervico-vaginal samples, women completed a questionnaire on the acceptability of the sample collection methods. We coded open-ended questions inductively. All results are presented stratified by racial/ethnic group. Results: We included 410 women (119 Hispanic, 115 non-Hispanic Black, 154 non-Hispanic White, and 22 women with other racial identities). Most women (79%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 76%-83%) had positive feelings about urine-based hrHPV testing. Women generally preferred urine (78%, 95% CI = 74%-82%) over cervico-vaginal self-collection (18%, 95% CI = 14%-22%), but the degree differed by racial/ethnic group, increasing from 75% in non-Hispanic Black to 82% in Hispanic women (p = 0.011). Most women reported at least one positive aspect of urine (89%) and cervico-vaginal self-collection (85%) for hrHPV testing with the most common positive aspect being easy sample collection, although 16% of women were concerned about performing the cervico-vaginal self-collection correctly. Conclusions: Self-collection for hrHPV-based cervical cancer screening is highly acceptable to women across different racial/ethnic groups in the United States, and most women in our study would be more likely to attend future cervical cancer screening appointments if screening were urine based. Urine-based hrHPV testing is a promising approach to improve cervical cancer screening coverage.

Test Accuracy of Human Papillomavirus in Urine for Detection of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia.

The objective was to assess the diagnostic test accuracy of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing of self-collected urine and cervicovaginal samples for the detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or higher (CIN2+). We recruited a convenience sample of women 25 to 65 years of age who were undergoing clinically indicated colposcopy at two medical centers in North Carolina between November 2016 and January 2019. Women with normal cytology results and positive hrHPV results were also recruited. Urine samples, self-collected cervicovaginal samples, provider-collected cervical samples, and cervical biopsy samples were obtained from all enrolled women. Samples were tested for hrHPV DNA using the Onclarity assay (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD). Biopsy samples were histologically graded as CIN2+ or

Using fetal scalp stimulation with Doppler ultrasonography to enhance intermittent auscultation in low-resource settings: a diagnostic trial from Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia during labor contributes to 2.2 million intrapartum and early neonatal deaths each year. An additional 0.6-1.0 million cases of life-long disability occur because of fetal hypoxia during labor. It is known that fetal heart rate changes in labor correspond to hypoxia and neurologic compromise, but a reliable, low-cost method for detecting these changes is not available. In this study we sought to compare the ability of a handheld Doppler device to detect accelerations as part of the fetal scalp stimulation test and to compare the diagnostic performance of routine intermittent auscultation with auscultation that is augmented with fetal scalp stimulation. METHODS: This non-randomized, pre- and post-diagnostic trial was conducted with 568 maternal-fetus pairs at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania. The first objective was to determine whether a handheld Doppler device could detect fetal accelerations in labor with reasonable accuracy as compared with a cardiotocography machine. We performed the fetal scalp stimulation test on 50 fetuses during labor using both a handheld Doppler and a cardiotocography machine and compared the outcomes for correlation using the kappa correlation coefficient. During the second objective, two groups of laboring women were monitored either with intermittent auscultation alone per routine protocol (N = 251) or with intermittent auscultation augmented with fetal scalp stimulation per study protocol(N = 267). Diagnostic accuracy of the monitoring method was determined by comparing umbilical cord blood gases immediately after birth with the predicted state of the baby based on monitoring. The analyses included sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. RESULTS: The prevalence of fetal acidemia ranged from 15 to 20%. Adding the fetal scalp stimulation test to intermittent auscultation protocols improved the performance of intermittent auscultation for detecting severe acidemia (pH < 7.0) from 27 to 70% (p = 0.032). The negative predictive value of intermittent auscultation augmented with the fetal scalp stimulation test ranged from 88 to 99% for mild (pH < 7.2) to severe fetal acidemia. CONCLUSIONS: The fetal scalp stimulation test, conducted with a handheld Doppler, is feasible and accurate in a limited resource setting. It is a low-cost solution that merits further evaluation to reduce intrapartum stillbirth and neonatal death in low-income countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT02862925 ).

Development of Algorithms for Automated Detection of Cervical Pre-Cancers With a Low-Cost, Point-of-Care, Pocket Colposcope.

GOAL: In this paper, we propose methods for (1) automatic feature extraction and classification for acetic acid and Lugol's iodine cervigrams and (2) methods for combining features/diagnosis of different contrasts in cervigrams for improved performance. METHODS: We developed algorithms to pre-process pathology-labeled cervigrams and extract simple but powerful color and textural-based features. The features were used to train a support vector machine model to classify cervigrams based on corresponding pathology for visual inspection with acetic acid, visual inspection with Lugol's iodine, and a combination of the two contrasts. RESULTS: The proposed framework achieved a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 81.3%, 78.6%, and 80.0%, respectively, when used to distinguish cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN+) relative to normal and benign tissues. This is superior to the average values achieved by three expert physicians on the same data set for discriminating normal/benign cases from CIN+ (77% sensitivity, 51% specificity, and 63% accuracy). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that utilizing simple color- and textural-based features from visual inspection with acetic acid and visual inspection with Lugol's iodine images may provide unbiased automation of cervigrams. SIGNIFICANCE: This would enable automated, expert-level diagnosis of cervical pre-cancer at the point of care.

An integrated strategy for improving contrast, durability, and portability of a Pocket Colposcope for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION: We have previously developed a portable Pocket Colposcope for cervical cancer screening in resource-limited settings. In this manuscript we report two different strategies (cross-polarization and an integrated reflector) to improve image contrast levels achieved with the Pocket Colposcope and evaluate the merits of each strategy compared to a standard-of-care digital colposcope. The desired outcomes included reduced specular reflection (glare), increased illumination beam pattern uniformity, and reduced electrical power budget. In addition, anti-fogging and waterproofing features were incorporated to prevent the Pocket Colposcope from fogging in the vaginal canal and to enable rapid disinfection by submersion in chemical agents. METHODS: Cross-polarization (Generation 3 Pocket Colposcope) and a new reflector design (Generation 4 Pocket Colposcope) were used to reduce glare and improve contrast. The reflector design (including the angle and height of the reflector sidewalls) was optimized through ray-tracing simulations. Both systems were characterized with a series of bench tests to assess specular reflection, beam pattern uniformity, and image contrast. A pilot clinical study was conducted to compare the Generation 3 and 4 Pocket Colposcopes to a standard-of-care colposcope (Leisegang Optik 2). Specifically, paired images of cervices were collected from the standard-of-care colposcope and either the Generation 3 (n = 24 patients) or the Generation 4 (n = 32 patients) Pocket Colposcopes. The paired images were blinded by device, randomized, and sent to an expert physician who provided a diagnosis for each image. Corresponding pathology was obtained for all image pairs. The primary outcome measures were the level of agreement (%) and κ (kappa) statistic between the standard-of-care colposcope and each Pocket Colposcope (Generation 3 and Generation 4). RESULTS: Both generations of Pocket Colposcope had significantly higher image contrast when compared to the standard-of-care colposcope. The addition of anti-fog and waterproofing features to the Generation 3 and 4 Pocket Colposcope did not impact image quality based on qualitative and quantitative metrics. The level of agreement between the Generation 3 Pocket Colposcope and the standard-of-care colposcope was 75.0% (kappa = 0.4000, p = 0.0028, n = 24). This closely matched the level of agreement between the Generation 4 Pocket Colposcope and the standard-of-care colposcope which was also 75.0% (kappa = 0.4941, p = 0.0024, n = 32). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the Generation 3 and 4 Pocket Colposcopes perform comparably to the standard-of-care colposcope, with the added benefit of being low-cost and waterproof, which is ideal for use in resource-limited settings. Additionally, the reflector significantly reduces the electrical requirements of the Generation 4 Pocket Colposcope enhancing portability without altering performance compared to the Generation 3 system.

Design and preliminary analysis of a vaginal inserter for speculum-free cervical cancer screening.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer screening usually requires use of a speculum to provide a clear view of the cervix. The speculum is one potential barrier to screening due to fear of pain, discomfort and embarrassment. The aim of this paper is to present and demonstrate the feasibility of a tampon-sized inserter and the POCkeT Colposcope, a miniature pen sized-colposcope, for comfortable, speculum-free and potentially self-colposcopy. STUDY DESIGN: We explored different designs using 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software and performed mechanical testing simulations on each. Designs were rapid prototyped and tested using a custom vaginal phantom across a range of vaginal pressures and uterine tilts to select an optimal design. Two final designs were tested with fifteen volunteers to assess cervix visualization, comfort and usability compared to the speculum and the optimal design, the curved-tip inserter, was selected for testing in volunteers. RESULTS: We present a vaginal inserter as an alternative to the standard speculum for use with the POCkeT Colposcope. The device has a slim tubular body with a funnel-like curved tip measuring approximately 2.5 cm in diameter. The inserter has a channel through which a 2 megapixel (MP) mini camera with LED illumination fits to enable image capture. Mechanical finite element testing simulations with an applied pressure of 15 cm H2O indicated a high factor of safety (90.9) for the inserter. Testing of the device with a custom vaginal phantom, across a range of supine vaginal pressures and uterine tilts (retroverted, anteverted and sideverted), demonstrated image capture with a visual area comparable to the speculum for a normal/axial positioned uteri and significantly better than the speculum for anteverted and sideverted uteri (p<0.00001). Volunteer studies with self-insertion and physician-assisted cervix image capture showed adequate cervix visualization for 83% of patients. In addition, questionnaire responses from volunteers indicated a 92.3% overall preference for the inserter over the speculum and all indicated that the inserter was more comfortable than the speculum. The inserter provides a platform for self-cervical cancer screening and also enables acetic acid/Lugol's iodine application and insertion of swabs for Pap smear sample collection. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the feasibility of an inserter and miniature-imaging device for comfortable cervical image capture of women with potential for synergistic HPV and Pap smear sample collection.

International Image Concordance Study to Compare a Point-of-Care Tampon Colposcope With a Standard-of-Care Colposcope.

OBJECTIVE: Barriers to cervical cancer screening in low-resource settings include lack of accessible, high-quality services, high cost, and the need for multiple visits. To address these challenges, we developed a low-cost, intravaginal, optical cervical imaging device, the point-of-care tampon (POCkeT) colposcope and evaluated whether its performance is comparable with a standard-of-care colposcope. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 2 protocols, which included 44 and 18 patients. For the first protocol, white-light cervical images were collected in vivo, blinded by device, and sent electronically to 8 physicians from high-, middle-, and low-income countries. For the second protocol, green-light images were also collected and sent electronically to the highest performing physician from the first protocol who has experience in both a high- and low-income country. For each image, physicians completed a survey assessing cervix characteristics and severity of precancerous lesions. Corresponding pathology was obtained for all image pairs. RESULTS: For the first protocol, average percent agreement between devices was 70% across all physicians. The POCkeT and standard-of-care colposcope images had 37% and 51% agreement with pathology for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs), respectively. Investigation of HSIL POCkeT images revealed decreased visibility of vascularization and lack of contrast in lesion margins. After changes were made for the second protocol, the 2 devices achieved similar agreement to pathology for HSIL lesions (55%). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the exploratory study, physician interpretation of cervix images acquired using a portable, low-cost POCkeT colposcope was comparable to a standard-of-care colposcope.

Design of a Novel Low Cost Point of Care Tampon (POCkeT) Colposcope for Use in Resource Limited Settings.

INTRODUCTION: Current guidelines by WHO for cervical cancer screening in low- and middle-income countries involves visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) of the cervix, followed by treatment during the same visit or a subsequent visit with cryotherapy if a suspicious lesion is found. Implementation of these guidelines is hampered by a lack of: trained health workers, reliable technology, and access to screening facilities. A low cost ultra-portable Point of Care Tampon based digital colposcope (POCkeT Colposcope) for use at the community level setting, which has the unique form factor of a tampon, can be inserted into the vagina to capture images of the cervix, which are on par with that of a state of the art colposcope, at a fraction of the cost. A repository of images to be compiled that can be used to empower front line workers to become more effective through virtual dynamic training. By task shifting to the community setting, this technology could potentially provide significantly greater cervical screening access to where the most vulnerable women live. The POCkeT Colposcope's concentric LED ring provides comparable white and green field illumination at a fraction of the electrical power required in commercial colposcopes. Evaluation with standard optical imaging targets to assess the POCkeT Colposcope against the state of the art digital colposcope and other VIAM technologies. RESULTS: Our POCkeT Colposcope has comparable resolving power, color reproduction accuracy, minimal lens distortion, and illumination when compared to commercially available colposcopes. In vitro and pilot in vivo imaging results are promising with our POCkeT Colposcope capturing comparable quality images to commercial systems. CONCLUSION: The POCkeT Colposcope is capable of capturing images suitable for cervical lesion analysis. Our portable low cost system could potentially increase access to cervical cancer screening in limited resource settings through task shifting to community health workers.