S1E135: HPV self-sampling to screen for cervical cancer

A safe alternative to clinician-administered tests, the self-test for HPV can help prevent cervical cancer. 

Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

HPV or the human papillomavirus is a common virus that is sexually transmitted, and while most HPV infections clear on their own, persistent infections with high-risk types can lead to cervical cancer. 

In March 2025, the Society for Colposcopy & Cervical Pathology of Singapore (SCCPS) published an updated set of cervical cancer screening guidelines. The guidelines now recommend HPV self-sampling as an option to traditional cervical cancer screening methods. 

In Singapore, cervical cancer is currently the 11th most common cancer in women, with 309 new cases and 172 deaths in 2023, according to data from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Information Centre on HPV and Cancer. 

However, cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively, said the World Health Organisation (WHO). 

It aims to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030, with the following strategy:

• Vaccinate 90 per cent of girls with preventive HPV vaccines by age 15; 
• Screen 70 per cent of women with a high-performance test like HPV DNA screening by age 35, and again by age 45;
• Treat 90 per cent of women who have precancerous cells in the cervix or cervical cancer.

In this episode, senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks to Dr Felicia Chin, an obstetrician and gynaecological oncologist at Gynae Onco Partners about HPV DNA self-testing, what it entails, and who should screen for cervical cancer. Until late last year, Dr Chin was a senior consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She sits on the SCCPS committee.

Highlights (click/tap above)

1:54 Explaining the various tests for cervical cancers

3:14 Guidelines for cervical cancer screening in Singapore

4:32 How does HPV self-sampling work?

5:23 Difference between a self-test and a pap smear

13:42 Cervical cancer symptoms 

Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN

Host: Joyce Teo ([email protected])

Produced and edited by: Amirul Karim & Eden Soh

Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong

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