Long-term outcomes after cervical cancer screening in El Salvador: primary human papillomavirus screen-and-treat compared with cytology
At the first round of repeat screening after the implementation of CAPE, women who underwent HPV testing in a screen-and-treat strategy had significantly less CIN2+ and HPV positivity compared with those who underwent cytology. These outcomes occurred despite a longer screening interval for HPV testing than cytology. Findings provide reassurance for women and health systems that primary HPV screen-and-treat programmes with extended screening intervals, like the one in El Salvador, are achievable and effective in low- and middle-income settings.
Authors
- Karla Alfaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7597-5748)
- Preetha Ramalingam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4816-507X)
- Montserrat Soler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1193-8710)
- Rachel Masch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3761-858X)
- Matías Chacón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6872-4185)
- Gabriel Conzuelo Rodriguez
- Melissa López Varón
- Juan C. Felix (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7663-1050)
- Michel Cremer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2006-2439)
- Elizabeth Torres (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5177-5442)
- Julia C. Gage (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5259-6385)
- Mario Meléndez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3895-4534)
- Maurício Maza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2027-4431)
- Leticia Rodríguez López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6593-1397)
- Kathleen M Schmeler
- J. M. Artero
Institutions
- Cleveland Clinic (US)
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US)
- Medical College of Wisconsin (US)
- Cleveland Research (United States) (US)
- Ministerio de Salud (SV)
- National Cancer Institute (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMJ Global Health
- Published
- 2025-10-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017983
- Primary Topic
- Cervical Cancer and HPV Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center