European guidelines for quality assurance in cervical cancer screening. Summary of the supplements on HPV screening and vaccination

TLDR

The supplements acknowledge evidence that HPV primary testing is more effective than cytology, but stress that policy and program organization are essential to balance benefits and harms. This article summarizes the supplements and graded recommendations to inform a broader professional and scientific audience. A project coordinated by IARC with 31 experts from 11 European countries produced supplements to the European cervical cancer screening guidelines, incorporating HPV primary testing and vaccination to improve prevention, and will be published by the European Commission. The supplements contain 62 graded recommendations or conclusions.

Abstract

In a project coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 31 experts from 11 European countries and IARC have developed supplements to the current European guidelines for quality assurance in cervical cancer screening. The supplements take into account the potential of primary testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) and vaccination against HPV infection to improve cervical cancer prevention and control and will be published by the European Commission in book format. They include 62 recommendations or conclusions for which the strength of the evidence and the respective recommendations is graded. While acknowledging the available evidence for more efficacious screening using HPV primary testing compared to screening based on cytology, the authors and editors of the supplements emphasize that appropriate policy and programme organization remain essential to achieve an acceptable balance between benefit and harm of any screening or vaccination programme. A summary of the supplements and all of the graded recommendations are presented here in journal format to make key aspects of the updated and expanded guidelines known to a wider professional and scientific community.