Chen SH, Song YY, Gan N, Wang PT, Yan K, Wang SF, Zu YE, Peng XW. Human papillomavirus infection and screening strategies. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(5): 105055 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i5.105055]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xiang-Wen Peng, Associate Professor, Central Laboratory, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, No. 416 East Chengnan Road, Yuhua District, Changsha 410001, Hunan Province, China. pxw1237@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Virology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. May 24, 2025; 16(5): 105055 Published online May 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i5.105055
Human papillomavirus infection and screening strategies
Si-He Chen, Yu-Ying Song, Ni Gan, Pin-Tian Wang, Kang Yan, Si-Feng Wang, Yue-E Zu, Xiang-Wen Peng
Si-He Chen, Yu-Ying Song, Ni Gan, Pin-Tian Wang, Kang Yan, Si-Feng Wang, Yue-E Zu, Xiang-Wen Peng, Central Laboratory, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410001, Hunan Province, China
Co-first authors: Si-He Chen and Yu-Ying Song.
Co-corresponding authors: Yue-E Zu and Xiang-Wen Peng.
Author contributions: Chen SH, Song YY, and Peng XW conceived and designed the study; Zu YE, Chen SH, Peng XW, Wang SF, and Wang PT drafted the manuscript; Gan N and Yan K critically revised the manuscript. Chen SH and Song YY contributed equally to this work as co-first authors. Peng XW and Zu YE jointly conceived the study and drafted the manuscript. Zu YE further revised the article, coordinated funding acquisition, and provided critical insights during research conceptualization. Both authors contributed equally to experimental design, data interpretation, and manuscript refinement. Their collaborative efforts in study execution and manuscript preparation justify their designation as co-corresponding authors.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiang-Wen Peng, Associate Professor, Central Laboratory, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Regional Hereditary Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care Affiliated to Hunan Normal University, No. 416 East Chengnan Road, Yuhua District, Changsha 410001, Hunan Province, China. pxw1237@163.com
Received: January 10, 2025 Revised: February 26, 2025 Accepted: March 26, 2025 Published online: May 24, 2025 Processing time: 129 Days and 14 Hours
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a common sexually transmitted disease and a leading cause of cervical, other anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers. Screening for precancerous lesions is an effective strategy for preventing HPV-related tumors. Although HPV vaccination has significantly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer, achieving universal coverage remains challenging because of cost barriers, particularly in economically disadvantaged regions. This review provides an update of HPV infection characteristics, screening methods, and strategies tailored to low-resource settings. We also discuss the global burden of HPV-related diseases, regional disparities in the implementation of screening, and future research directions. By examining the current challenges and opportunities, this review aims to inform policymakers and healthcare providers in designing effective, affordable, and scalable screening programs.
Core Tip: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer, and screening for precancerous lesions is an effective measure to prevent tumors caused by HPV. Although HPV vaccination can effectively prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer, universal coverage cannot be achieved due to the cost. For economically disadvantaged areas, affordable and effective HPV cervical cancer screening strategies remain a major public health concern. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the prevention and control methods and strategies of HPV virus screening to provide references for countries to formulate public policy research.
