The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) announced major milestones from its Enduring Guidelines initiative, which is aimed at revolutionizing the fight against cervical cancer. This includes the recognition of dual-stain biomarkers as an important technology in helping clinicians triage patients to determine if their human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is transforming into cervical pre-cancer, according to Roche Diagnostics.

The ASCCP, the American Cancer Society (ACS), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and several other organizations initiated the Enduring Guidelines project following the establishment of the 2019 ASCCP Consensus Guidelines for Clinical Management to integrate emerging technologies and the latest scientific evidence into the management of cervical cancer.

Further reading: Why the Triage Approach Will Improve Cervical Cancer Screening and Diagnosis

The Enduring Guidelines effort ensures timely updates to the guidelines, incorporating rapidly emerging technologies and new scientific evidence, the organization says. Two key papers mark significant milestones in this ongoing effort:

  • Megan A. Clarke, PhD, MHS, Clinical Genetics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics, National Cancer Institute: Presents the first clinical recommendations from the Enduring Guidelines group on the use of dual stain cytology to manage abnormal cervical screening results. These recommendations offer insights into enhancing patient care and outcomes.
  • Nicolas Wentzensen, MD, PhD, MS, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute: Outlines the Enduring Guidelines approach and methods, demonstrating a commitment to staying at the forefront of cervical cancer prevention and management.

The guidelines examine data from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California cohort and the STudying Risk to Improve DisparitiES study, which includes the outline of new recommendations on managing patients using dual-stain technology, Roche says in a release. The guidelines also note that compared with cytology, dual stain requires fewer colposcopies and detects cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or greater earlier.  

Further reading: Cervical Cancer Screening: Survey Points to Self-Collection as Improving Access

​​Roche’s CINtec PLUS Cytology is an FDA-approved dual-stain triage test for HPV-positive cervical cancer screening results.

Dual stain is a robust marker of CIN3+ risk and can be incorporated into clinical management strategies, according to the guidelines.∗ Existing clinical decision support tools (e.g., the ASCCP app) plan to incorporate these recommendations for use of dual stain.

References:

∗Please see ASCCP website for full details on the updated guidelines.