Female-to-male trans masculine patients (TM)—those who are assigned a female sex at birth but who identify as a male—often retain their female reproductive organs but may not get screened for the high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection that causes most cervical cancers. They may avoid having a pelvic exam out of fear of discrimination, trauma history, and for other reasons.
A new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) study by Sari L. Reisner, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues assessed the effectiveness of using self-collected vaginal specimens in a group of TM individuals, ages 21 to 64.
The study was published March 14, 2018 in PLoS One.
The researchers found the self-collected vaginal swabs to be a “highly acceptable” means to test for hrHPV. “Self-collected vaginal swab testing for hrHPV DNA represents a reasonable and patient-centered strategy for primary cervical cancer screening in TM patients unwilling to undergo provider collection of specimens via speculum exam,” the authors wrote. More research, however, is needed to determine the safety of using this method.
Learn more
Health and rights linked for world’s 25 million transgender people (Harvard Chan School news)
Transgender health advocates say keep an eye on the big picture (Harvard Chan School news)