Development of the Cervical Cell Lift for Disease Mapping and Human Papillomavirus Natural History Studies

• Grant number: 25/09780-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: October 15, 2025
• End date: October 14, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Lara Termini
• Grantee: Lara Termini
• Host Investigator: John Doorbar
• Host Institution: Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo Octavio Frias de Oliveira (ICESP). Coordenadoria de Serviços de Saúde (CSS). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Cambridge, England

Abstract

Cervical screening constitutes a secondary prevention of cervical cancer as by detecting and treating precancerous lesions in both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Detecting HPV nucleic acids exhibits high sensitivity to pre-cancer lesions. However, the presence of HPV has a low positive predictive value (PPV) since its doesn't always correspond to pre-cancer lesions. Therefore, a triage test, liquid-based cytology, is performed to identify women who require a diagnostic test (colposcopy) to determine those patients' requiring treatment. Liquid-based cytology also has a low PPV, placing a burden on healthcare resources and leading to unnecessary treatments, which increase the risk of neonatal complications due to prematurity. Recently, a novel cervical cell lift (CCL) method was developed by John Doorbar's group, at the Department of Pathology of the University of Cambridge, UK. This method allows the collection and preservation of the cervical surface cells in their native position. Besides, this approach generates a spatial map of the biomarkers and grading of HPV-infected cervical lesions that improves the PPV/specificity of the triage test with high sensitivity and reproducibility. Our aim is to participate of an ongoing clinical trial to assess the reliability of the CCL method in grading HPV-infected cervical lesions and evaluate its sensitivity and specificity. During this study I will be trained in samples acquisition and analysis, including the use of different biomarkers detection techniques and image analysis approaches. The CCL method will be a valuable alternative triage test for cervical disease screening in our settings and a tool for lesions monitoring in research trials for novel therapeutic approaches including vaccines or antivirals. (AU)