Diagnostic information services provider Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) has introduced a human papillomavirus (HPV) self-collection solution for cervical cancer screening, allowing physicians in the United States to offer patients the option to collect their own specimens in clinical settings, the company announced on Wednesday.

Quest plans to expand access next month by making the self-collection option available at its 2,000 patient service centres nationwide.

This solution builds on Quest's prior self-collection offerings, including its 2024 launch of self-collection for vaginitis and sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomoniasis. The FDA-cleared HPV self-collection solution, developed by Roche (SIX: RO, ROG) (OTCQX: RHHBY), is approved for use with Roche's cobas HPV test.

The self-collection process allows patients to privately collect a vaginal sample in a physician's office or other healthcare setting, with providers forwarding the specimen to Quest's laboratories for testing. Results are delivered electronically to both the physician and patient, enabling further medical evaluation if needed.

According to draft guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force, self-collection for HPV screening offers similar accuracy to clinician-collected tests and increases participation among historically underscreened populations.