Roche has presented data from a sub-analysis of the Addressing The Need for Advanced HPV Diagnostics (Athena) study for the cobas HPV Test.
Roche’s cobas HPV Test detects 12 high-risk HPV types and also HPV genotypes 16 and 18 individually.
The study is designed to show the importance of testing for high-risk HPV genotypes in cervical cancer screening and also provide clinical information about the specific HPV genotypes.
Athena data showed that identifying women with HPV 16 and/or 18 provides important predictive information to determine a woman’s risk of cervical disease.
The data also showed that HPV DNA testing as primary (or first-line) screening identified cervical disease at a higher rate than cytology alone.
University of Virginia Health System Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology professor and associate director Mark Stoler said the use of the HPV 16 and 18 genotyping information provided by the cobas HPV Test or reflex cytology, would offer a rational approach for determining which HPV positive women need immediate follow up.