OBJECTIVES: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers among women globally, resulting in an estimated 341,831 deaths in 2020. Primarily caused by high-risk HPV, most cervical cancer is preventable with proper screening and early intervention. Though effective screening and preventive measures exist, they often fail to account for personal, social, cultural, or economic barriers. Alternative collection methods have been proposed to overcome these barriers and increase participation in screenings. This review examined women’s preference for self-sampling vs clinician-performed cervical screenings as a means to increase screening participation.

METHODS: A focused review of PubMed was conducted to identify patient-preference data reported in cervical cancer screening initiatives. Publications reporting on community health strategies, test accuracy, economic evaluations, co-infected populations, self-collection intentions, linkage to care, and pharmacologic therapies were excluded. Results were limited to English-language publications from 2012 to 2022.

RESULTS: A total of 31 publications reported on patient preference for cervical screening. Overall, self-sampling was the most preferred collection method (n=24) compared to clinician-based screenings. The proportion of participants indicating a preference for self-sampling methods ranged from 57.1% to 90% (median: 70%). Participants expressed a preference for self-sampling due to ease of use, comfort, convenience, painlessness, and decreased feelings of embarrassment and fear. A preference for clinician-based sampling by some women stemmed from a perception of increased accuracy, greater confidence in clinician samples, or a lack of confidence in performing the self-sampling correctly.

CONCLUSIONS: Integration of HPV self-collection into routine clinical practice may serve as a viable option to expand cervical cancer prevention strategies as a large proportion of participants preferred self-collection to clinician sampling. Yet a better understanding of barriers to screening and preference drivers is needed to maximize screening rates and potentially improve long-term outcomes, especially in underscreened populations.