Tia Welsh, MD, highlights breakthroughs in cervical cancer screening

In a recent interview with Contemporary OB/GYN, Tia Welsh, MD, MPH, FACOG, Chair of Women’s Services at Valley Medical Group, highlighted advancements in cervical cancer screening that will improve treatment procedures.

These advancements include primary HPV screening, which allows providers to extend their reach by over 30% and provide self-collection with patients in health care settings. Welsh also highlighted BD’s FDA-approved clinical assay that includes extended genotyping to further advance cervical cancer screening.

Contemporary OB/GYN: What are some recent advancements in cervical cancer screening?

Tia Welsh, MD, MPH, FACOG: So, some of the recent advances in cervical cancer screening include extended genotyping and primary HPV screening.

Contemporary OB/GYN: How will these changes improve treatment procedures in cervical cancer patients?

Welsh: Well, with primary HPV screening, we can reach and improve our access to populations that haven’t been screened before. We can extend our reach by over 30%. Primary HPV screening can be done in clinician settings, and what that means is now we can do self-collection with patients in health care settings, including mobile vans, including health fairs, And again, reach populations that haven’t been reached before.

Contemporary OB/GYN: How have guidelines for cervical cancer screening shifted over time?

Welsh: We have seen a wide range of recommendations over the past several years, from the 1970s to the recommendations that we have now, and we started with cytology alone, and then understanding that HPV is a culprit, we have extended our recommendations, including cytology co-testing and primary HPV screening.

Contemporary OB/GYN: What are the advantages of self-collection compared to in-clinic collection?

Welsh: Again, self-collection allows the autonomy of the patient to obtain a vaginal swab. Think about patients who maybe cannot get their legs into the dorsal lithotomy position because of disabilities that they may have. Think about our LGBTQ+ population, who we know go under-screened, and those patients with socioeconomic disadvantages who don’t primarily come to the office. Now we can expand our reach.

Contemporary OB/GYN: Is there anything you would like to add?

Welsh: I just want to add that BD in their Onclarity Assay has extended genotyping and has been FDA approved for self-collection, and this is further advancing the evolution of cervical cancer screening.

Disclosure: Smith+Nephew, Inc.

Reference:

BD at ACOG. BD. Accessed May 16, 2025.