Rapid Point of Care Test to Screen Human Papillomavirus in Low-Resource Settings

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Cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, but it is preventable by screening asymptomatic women before HPV infection progresses to an invasive disease. The screening programs in developed countries use the cytology-based approach (Pap testing) followed by colposcopy, which require a high degree of organization and management. They are not available in low-resource settings, i.e., LMICs due to poverty, a lack of medical providers, inconsistent health policies, inconvenient transportation and communication facilities. Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) as an alternative to Pap screening has been being applied in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but the procedure must be performed by well-trained health care providers and it is not accessible for the rural places which have limited professional staffs. FDA has approved several PCR devices for high-risk HPV screening in developing countries. However, PCR assay is complex, time consuming, expensive, and is not suitable for the low-income sites. Zymeron develops a rapid (less than 20 min), highly sensitive, and low-cost POC assay to detect and genotype high-risk HPV from multiple self-collected cervicovaginal specimens to rapidly inform physicians on timely treatment in resource-limited sites.