OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the current cervical cancer screening pattern in the brazilian private sector, and also the economic impact of HPV genotyping test implementation in this scenario.

METHODS: A database of women who performed at least one procedure related to the screening of cervical cancer between 2013-2018 was analyzed. The procedures were classified into two groups: screening procedure (conventional cytology, liquid-based cytology, hybrid capture test and HPV genotyping test) and supplementary procedure (colposcopy and biopsy). The screening pattern was evaluated in all women between 30-64 years old (N=1062). The combinations of the procedures and their frequencies were evaluated. The cost of screening was calculated and compared with HPV genotyping test. A univariate sensitivity analysis was performed.

RESULTS: The analysis demonstrated that the conventional cytology was the most frequent procedure (81%), followed by liquid-based cytology (12%), hybrid capture test (5%) and HPV genotyping test (1%) in the group of patients who performed one procedure (91%). In the group of patients who performed more than one procedure (9%), the most frequent was hybrid capture test plus conventional cytology (60%), followed by HPV genotyping test plus conventional cytology (23%) and HPV genotyping test plus liquid-based cytology (9%). The screening frequency was estimated to be 4.7 times over 5 years. It was calculated that 87% of women in the screening group do not undergo a supplementary test in 5 years. For those women who remain in the screening group, the HPV genotyping test has the potential to save BRL 135.44 per patient in 5 years compared with the current screening pattern.

CONCLUSIONS: The saving generated to the private sector is resulted of the period of 5 years that a patient with a negative HPV genotyping test result can safely wait until the next screening test.