There has been a shift in cervical cancer screening from primary cytology based to HPV based. Even HPV screening has had its evolution from physician collected samples to patient self-collection, either in a clinical setting or at home with an approved collection system. In May 2025, the FDA cleared the first at-home self-collection kit for HPV screening, specifically the Teal Wand by Teal Health. Now, we are seeing the advent of POSSIBLY another avenue for cervical HPV testing- although it is a bit awkward: the use of menstrual blood as an HPV screening test. In this episode we will review a new cross-sectional, population-based study from China which compared testing menstrual blood for human papillomavirus during cervical cancer screening to clinician-collected cervical samples for human papillomavirus (HPV). This concept, and these results, are not new at all! And there are important limitations to consider at this time. Listen in for details.

1. Testing menstrual blood for human papillomavirus during cervical cancer screening in China: cross sectional population based study. BMJ 2026; 392 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2025-084831 (Published 04 February 2026)

BMJ 2026;392:e084831

https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj-2025-084831

2. Naseri S, Young S, Cruz G, Blumenthal PD. Screening for High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Using Passive, Self-Collected Menstrual Blood. Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Sep 1;140(3):470-476. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004904. Epub 2022 Aug 3. PMID: 35926207; PMCID: PMC9377370.

3. Fokom Domgue J, Chandra M, Oladoyin O, Desai M, Yu R, Shete S. Women’s Preferences for Home-Based Self-Sampling or Clinic-Based Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;9(2):e2558841. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.58841