title: A comparison of different human papillomavirus tests in PreservCyt versus SurePath in a referral population-PREDICTORS 4.
abstract: Two transport media, PreservCyt and SurePath, are widely used for cervical cytology screening. There are concerns that they may perform differently for HPV testing.
  
  
  
  A comparison of the performance of six different HPV tests in SurePath and PreservCyt in a referral population using two samples from each woman. The primary goal was to compare the performance of each test in the two media. Comparisons between assays and viral load comparisons between media were secondary aims.
  
  
  
  Two cervical samples were collected in random order at the same visit in women with abnormal cytology. One sample was placed in 20ml of PreservCyt and the other in 10ml of SurePath. Aliquots were taken for 4 DNA based tests: digene HC2 High-Risk HPV DNA Test, Abbott Realtime, BD Onclarity and Genera PapType, an RNA based test-: Hologic Aptima and a protein test: OncoHealth.
  
  
  
  630 sample pairs were included in the analyses. For all tests except the protein test sensitivities were in excess of 90% for CIN2+ and 95% for CIN3+ for both media and with no significant differences except for a lower sensitivity for CIN2+ of Aptima in SurePath (93% vs 98%, P=0.005). Specificity for <CIN2 was significantly better in Surepath for HC2, RealTime and Aptima, and generally lower relative signal strengths were seen with SurePath except for Onclarity, especially when it was the second sample.
  
  
  
  We found similar sensitivity for CIN3+ in PreservCyt and SurePath for 5 nucleic acid tests in the two media in a referral population, but signal strength and positivity rates were lower in SurePath except for the Onclarity test. These results need to be replicated in a screening population.
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK. Electronic address: j.cuzick@qmul.ac.uk.
authors: Jack
authors: J
authors: Cuzick
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Amar S
authors: AS
authors: Ahmad
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Janet
authors: J
authors: Austin
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Louise
authors: L
authors: Cadman
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Linda
authors: L
authors: Ho
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Terry
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Kleeman
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Lesley
authors: L
authors: Ashdown-Barr
authors: Department of Colposcopy, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: Deirdre
authors: D
authors: Lyons
authors: Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Stoler
authors: Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK.
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Szarewski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D019562:Viral Load / Q000379:methods
keywords: Cervical screening; Human papillomavirus testing; PreservCyt; SurePath; ThinPrep