Pilots of Self-Collection for HPV DNA Detection

This study will evaluate a method of testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. For women who have had Pap test results that are abnormal, a new test can be done for HPV, that is, viruses that sometimes cause bumpy or flat warts. Such infections all usually disappear by themselves in 1 or 2 years if someone's Pap test shows a mild abnormality. But if the HPV does not go away, the infection can slowly lead to cancer of the cervix. Through this study, researchers will examine patients in conjunction with a colposcopy, that is, a diagnostic tool to determine the cause of abnormal Pap test results. The researchers hope to improve on the efficiency of detecting HPV and reducing the risk of cervical cancer. Patients ages 21 and older who are not pregnant and who have not had a hysterectomy and who are attending a colposcopy clinic may be eligible for this study. This study will enroll 150 patients. Two pilot studies will be done: one at the Cleveland Clinic, with the use of the POI sampler (Preventive Oncology International ) and the other at the University of Arizona, with the use of the Fournier sampler. In the study part that uses the POI sampler, patients will be recruited from the existing colposcopy schedule. For the Fournier sampler, patients will be recruited as they attend their scheduled colposcopy visit. During the procedure, the doctor will collect two (Cleveland Clinic) or three (University of Arizona) specimen from the patients while the patients are sitting. A speculum is not placed in the vagina at that time. Then the doctor will conduct a routine pelvic exam, with the use of a speculum, while the patients are lying down, and perform the colposcopy. One final specimen will be collected before the the colposcopic evaluation. Those three or four specimens will be used just for research purposes, and they make up the only part different from the regular colposcopy exam. The pelvic exams may sometimes be slightly uncomfortable, and patients may have tempora