Certain types of HPV infection can develop into cervical cancer and HPV testing is a key part of cervical screening. But not all women attend screening appointments for reasons including fear of pain, concerns about privacy and stigma, and lack of awareness.

Testing menstrual blood for HPV infection shows promise as a convenient, noninvasive alternative to screening, but evidence is limited.

To address this gap, researchers in China compared the diagnostic accuracy of menstrual blood versus clinician-collected cervical samples for detecting high grade (CIN2+ / CIN3+) cervical lesions, which typically require treatment.