HPV testing is conventionally performed by doctors or nurses but the sample is sent to an off-site pathology lab for processing and results can take month or longer to be returned to the woman.
Two tests have been developed to provide a rapid turn-around time. Care HPV (Digene/Hologic) still requires a simple lab facility but the results can be obtained within a day and is aimed primarily at hard to reach rural populations where it is desirable to perform screening and treatment if necessary in the same day, eg by screening in the morning and providing the results and simple treatment such as cryotherapy if necessary in the afternoon. A newer test from Cepheid is assayed in a fully self contained cartridge in a multiplex machine within 90 mins and can be performed directly in the office/building where the test was taken.
This has potential uses both in rural population and more generally eve in the developed world, where women can be given their result at the sample visit as their screen, thereby minimizing anxiety in the large portion who will be HPV negative. This advantage needs to be balanced against the likely extra cost of this type of test. It may alo be possible to assay urine samples and self-collected cervical samples by this method, opening up new possiblilities for providing HPV testing in a screening setting.