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Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and partner institutions contributed to the recently announced validation and launch of human papillomavirus (HPV) detection tests developed in India for use in cervical cancer screening. The official announcement of the results took place in Delhi, India, on 23 April 2025 in the presence of Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology of India.
This marks the first validation of an HPV detection test produced in India that can detect the eight most common cancer-causing HPV types. This test will enable highly efficient and possibly more cost-effective screening programmes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The test was developed by repurposing an existing local COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing platform.
Scientific support from IARC personnel, as well as access to samples from the IARC biobank, facilitated a rapid, cost-efficient, and well-designed validation of the test, adhering to international criteria for HPV primary screening. Adaptation of the criteria to a lower-valency test followed an expert consultation at IARC, which resulted in a report published in the Journal of Medical Virology.
The validation of the tests was the result of the Validation of Indigenous Human Papillomavirus Tests for Cervical Cancer Screening in India (i-HPV) project, a collaboration between IARC and the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Ramírez AT, Clifford GM, Dillner J, Kuhn L, Arbyn M, Bhatla N, et al.
Reflections regarding validation of new HPV tests with reduced HPV genotypes: report from an IARC expert consultation
J Med Virol. Published online 20 March 2025;
https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.70310
Read coverage of the launch from the local press: The Hindu and India Today
