New Delhi: A new multi-centre study has found that indigenous point-of-care (PoC) HPV DNA testing platforms could significantly improve cervical cancer screening in India by making testing more affordable, accessible and scalable, particularly in low-resource settings.
Published in the International Journal of Cancer, the study was conducted by researchers from AIIMS New Delhi, ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), Noida, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (NIRRCH), Mumbai, in collaboration with the WHO-International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), France. The research was supported by DBT-BIRAC Grand Challenges India.
Cervical cancer continues to be a major public health challenge in India, with nearly 127,000 new cases and around 80,000 deaths reported annually. Although regular screening of women above 30 years of age can help detect precancerous and cancerous lesions at an early stage, screening coverage remains low despite the inclusion of cervical cancer screening under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Common Cancers.
Persistent infection with carcinogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is known to be the primary cause of cervical cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends HPV DNA testing as the preferred screening strategy to achieve cervical cancer elimination. According to WHO, screening women twice in their lifetime—at ages 35 and 45 years using validated HPV tests can significantly reduce the burden of cervical cancer.
However, the widespread adoption of HPV testing in India has been hindered by the high cost of existing tests, which often require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure and specialised technical expertise.
The researchers noted that point-of-care HPV testing could address these challenges by enabling affordable, rapid testing closer to communities and facilitating same-day treatment for women who test positive.
The study evaluated four indigenous HPV DNA testing platforms developed in India. Importantly, these tests were assessed using WHO Target Product Profile (TPP) criteria and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) validation standards. Of the four platforms evaluated, two were found suitable for use in India’s cervical cancer screening programme.
Dr Neerja Bhatla, Professor Emeritus at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and former Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at AIIMS New Delhi, who led the study, said the research represents one of the first attempts to evaluate Indian-developed reduced-valency HPV assays using internationally accepted standards.
According to Dr Bhatla, researchers proposed developing HPV tests that focus on the eight most common HPV types associated with cervical cancer. Such tests can be performed at district and sub-district healthcare facilities with minimal training and infrastructure requirements.
“These innovations were designed to overcome the limitations of currently available HPV tests, most of which were developed in high-income countries and detect a broader range of HPV types, making them more expensive and complex,” she said.
She added that the findings demonstrate that indigenous HPV testing platforms can achieve clinical validation, quality standards and diagnostic accuracy comparable to internationally recognised gold-standard tests.
“This study demonstrates that indigenous platforms can achieve clinical validation, quality standards, and accuracy comparable to global gold-standard tests. It will be a game-changer for cervical cancer prevention and early detection in India,” Dr Bhatla said.
Dr Shalini Singh, Director of ICMR-NICPR, highlighted that HPV DNA testing at ages 35 and 45 is central to WHO’s strategy for eliminating cervical cancer. However, high testing costs remain a major obstacle in low- and middle-income countries.
“Affordable indigenous solutions are essential to expand screening coverage and reduce disease burden,” she said.
Dr Showket Hussain, one of the corresponding authors of the study, said the validated platforms have strong potential for integration into nationwide screening programmes because healthcare personnel at district-level facilities are already familiar with similar testing systems.
He also noted that future innovations such as self-sampling and high-throughput testing adaptations could further improve access to screening services.
Why This Matters
Experts believe that affordable indigenous HPV DNA tests could be a turning point in India’s fight against cervical cancer. By reducing testing costs and enabling screening at district and sub-district healthcare facilities, these technologies could help increase screening coverage among women aged over 30 years, particularly in rural and underserved regions. Greater access to HPV testing would allow earlier detection of precancerous lesions, timely treatment and improved survival outcomes. The development also supports India’s efforts to meet WHO’s cervical cancer elimination targets and could serve as a model for other low- and middle-income countries facing similar healthcare challenges.
The researchers noted that while the recent introduction of HPV vaccination campaigns is expected to benefit younger generations, expanding access to HPV DNA testing remains critical for women currently at risk of developing cervical cancer.
