By Samantha Morais, Division of Cancer Epidemiology, McGill University, Canada.

I visited the E-Poster Gallery of the IPVC 2021 Virtual Conference, and was impressed by the quality and scope of the works presented. The virtual format of the conference allows for an extensive selection of E-Posters to be explored from anywhere!

Many studies focused on the natural history and risk factors of HPV. An interesting study was presented by J. Li et al. from the USA: A HIGH-RESOLUTION GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF CERVICAL CANCER AND OROPHARYNGEAL CANCER IN NEW YORK STATE (ID 127). The authors used data from the New York Statewide Planning And Research Cooperative System to perform a geospatial analysis of HPV-related cancers. They found that cancer incidence was negatively correlated with screening but insignificantly correlated with vaccination. Lower screening and higher vaccination coverage were observed among non-White communities. The authors highlight that this work may allow for intervention efforts to be precisely directed to communities with greater needs.

The implementation, evaluation and impact of screening for HPV-related disease was addressed in several studies. CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTERVAL EXTENSION IN AN ERA OF HPV BASED SCREENING: RESULTS FROM THE ENGLISH HPV CERVICAL SCREENING PILOT (ID 421) was presented by M. Rebolj et al. from the UK. This study provided updated evidence in support of the extension of screening intervals using high-risk HPV testing in cervical cancer screening. The authors found that high-risk HPV testing allows for routine recall intervals to be extended to at least five years among women aged 25-49 years and to longer than five years among older women.

Another study that focused on cervical cancer screening programs was the study by K. Pedersen et al. from Norway: SWITCHING CLINIC-BASED CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING PROGRAMS TO HPV SELF-SAMPLING: A COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF VACCINATED AND UNVACCINATED NORWEGIAN WOMEN (ID 270). The authors used a previously developed microsimulation model to project long-term health and economic outcomes for four birth cohorts with different HPV vaccination and HPV protection. They demonstrated that switching an organized cancer screening program to HPV self-sampling may substantially reduce screening costs, and be cost-effective among cohorts of HPV vaccinated and unvaccinated women.

Several studies focused on psychological aspects on HPV-related interventions. INFORMATION NEEDS, INFORMATION SOURCES AND BARRIERS TO ACCESS INFORMATION OF HPV+/PAP- WOMEN OF A SUBURBAN AREA OF BUENOS AIRES (ID 472) was presented by S. Arrossi et al. from Argentina. This study identified information needs, sources and barriers to access information among women who received their screening results (HPV+/normal pap). The findings of this study highlight the need for changes in information provision to overcome barriers to access information. This includes a patient-centered approach during the medical appointment, as well as the implementation of new formats to provide information.

Finally, in LIGHTS, CAMERA, ANIMATION: PRODUCING CULTURALLY-APPROPRIATE VIDEOS FOR HPV EDUCATION (ID 274), H. Lee et al. from Grenada shared their experience in creating an online cervical cancer education platform with culturally-appropriate materials. The authors produced an enjoyable and interactive eight-minute video that can be watched using the QR code provided. The video offers information on female reproductive anatomy, HPV risk factors, detection, prevention methods, and cervical cancer screening and symptoms.

Enjoy the IPVC 2021 Virtual Conference and visit the E-Poster Gallery to discover more research in areas of interest to you!