Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. E-mail: alexandra. Anal cancer is potentially preventable through screening. For screening to be implemented, the screening procedures must be acceptable to the affected population.
The objective of the present study was to measure the acceptability of currently available anal cancer screening tests in a population of women living with hiv who had experienced the tests.
Participants were screened with cervical or anal hpv testing and cervical or anal cytology every 6 months for 2 years. High-resolution anoscopy hra and digital anal rectal examination dare were also performed systematically, with biopsies, at baseline and at 2 years. An acceptability questionnaire was administered at the final visit or at study withdrawal.
Pain was the main reason for lower acceptability. Most participating women considered anal cancer screening necessary and very acceptable. Longer screening intervals and adequate pain management could further increase the acceptability of repeated screening. Keywords: hiv , human papillomavirus, hpv , women, anal cancer, screening acceptability, cancer prevention.
The incidence of anal cancer is increasing in the general population, and men and women living with hiv are the population at highest risk 1 β 3. Like cervical cancer, anal cancer is caused by persistent infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus hpv types 4 , 5 , which can lead to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions hsil s , the precursor to invasive cancer 6.
