Cervical screening and triage approaches

Update Feb 2026: 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) would like to thank all those who provided comments during the public consultation on cervical screening and triage approaches for the general population aged 25–64 years.

The input received has been reviewed and considered for screening and triage approaches to be addressed in the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Guidelines.

The working group has prioritised screening and triage approaches, and those identified as highest priority are being addressed in the current round of guideline development. Additional approaches may be considered in future updates of the guidelines.

Details of the publication consultation

The working group considered the following healthcare questions for review:

• HPV mRNA detection tests compared to HPV DNA detection tests;
• HPV self-collection (swab and urine) compared to the HPV provider-collected test.

The working group also considered the following triage tests*, alone or in combination, for review:

• Biomarker-based tests – including protein markers (e.g. p16, Ki-67, E6/E7) and DNA methylation assays.
• Cytology-based triage – using different cut-off thresholds (ASC-US, LSIL, ASC-H, HSIL).
• HPV genotyping approaches – limited or extended genotyping (e.g. HPV16/18 or broader panels), alone or combined with cytology or biomarker tests.
• Visual/optical assessment methods – with or without artificial intelligence–based interpretation.

*Triage in cervical cancer screening refers to additional testing of HPV-positive individuals to stratify risk of CIN2+ and guide management.

How to comment

This website is publicly accessible. Any visitor can comment on any of the listed documents. However, readers should note that these documents have been written using medical and scientific language and are defined based on the methodological framework for guideline development, including reviews of existing literature on the topic.

The comments provided should be substantiated by evidence stating the rationale and/or supporting publications or other public documentation. In the case a reference is provided for consideration by the working group, it must state the name of authors, journal, and date of publication.

Please note contributions will not be considered if they:

• are submitted after the deadline of the feedback call,
• are not submitted via the platform provided,
• are not related to the contents of the document,
• contain complaints against institutions, personal accusations, irrelevant or offensive statements or material, and/or
• are related to policy aspects outside the scope of the EC initiative on CvC's activities.

You will receive acknowledgement from the system that your comments have been successfully transmitted. IARC will accordingly assess all comments submitted in line with the aforementioned criteria.

Please note that IARC will not provide individual responses. The assessed comments will be further evaluated by the working group and systematic review team for consideration when defining the final outputs, following the methodological framework for guideline development.