CHICAPS (Chinese Cervical Cancer Prevention Study)
Over the past several years the focus of cervical cancer screening programs designed for mass screening and able to reach the underserved, have ranged from complex infrastructure demanding cytology based efforts, to very low tech unaided visual inspection programs. Then molecular testing moved to center stage with increased sensitivity and an excellent negative predictive value. Now with the development of relatively low-cost, low tech, rapid (2hr, 20-90 batch) HPV testing (CareHPV), algorithms are being developed to try to deliver care to the underserved. Due to recent findings based on our self-sampling work over the past 14 years, recent developments in solid transport media, and our enlightening experience with a low cost, high throughput, high tech HPV testing system, we have designed this study to further explore these technologies and their cost-effective implementation for world-wide cervical cancer control. CHICAPS builds upon the work we have been doing in the PERCAPS project in Peru
The Primary Objective
To develop and implement a community based preventive healthcare model using cervical cancer screening as the target medical intervention.
- This is a cervical cancer prevention program that will provide screening for 10,000 women who have not been screened for cervical cancer. The primary research goals of the project will be to devise and refine a health care delivery system using a community based participatory research model to recruit, register, educate , screen, collect, and transport blocks of 250-1500 self-collected samples for high-risk HPV testing . The model will be based on a daily scheme for each selected site, screening 10,000 women in 10 days and exploiting our experience with self-sampling combined with a very high throughput highly sensitive HPV assay.
- Create a community based “Manual of Standard Operating Procedures for Cervical Cancer Screening and other Healthcare Interventions” that can be handed to the government and implemented throughout China.
Secondary Objectives
- Acquire increased experience using solid transport media cards with MALDI-TOF in a cervical cancer screening program.
- Development of an effective specimen transport system (air, truck, etc).
- Determine the true impact of histopathological verification of disease in the screen, triage, and treat model. As of this writing we have finished Phase I in Heshan city in Guangdong Province, consisting of Pilot A in the two administrative villages of Shuanglong and Tangma within Zhaiwu Town and Pilot B were the two administrative villages of Pinghan and Lianggeng within Gonghe Town. We have made enormous progress is the development of our community based model and will soon apply it in its current form for CHICAPS Phase II to screen 9000 women in this same region of China.