According to the latest quality recommendation on screening, self-sampling (or HPV self-sampling) can also be used as a method of screening.

In 2024, Fimlab, Tampere University, and the Pirkanmaa Wellbeing Services County initiated a study on HPV self-sampling among the screened population in the Pirkanmaa region. In the spring of 2025, the study will expand to cover Fimlab’s entire operational area, including the wellbeing services counties of Kanta-Häme, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, and Ostrobothnia.

Who can participate in the study?

Anyone who will be screened in 2025, lives in Central Finland, Kanta-Häme, Ostrobothnia, Pirkanmaa or Päijät-Häme, and has not gone to screening yet, can participate in the HPV self-sampling study.

Participation in the study is voluntary and free of charge. Those who are eligible to participate in the HPV self-sampling study will receive information about it personally in a reminder letter for screening. Please note that if you have not received a reminder letter for screening you cannot participate in the self-sampling study nor order the testing kit from Fimlab’s website.

How does the HPV self-sampling work?

If you decide to participate in the HPV self-sampling study, you can order a self-sampling kit from Fimlab’s website and collect the sample by yourself at home by following the instructions included in the kit.

You will then mail the sample to Fimlab where the sample will be examined for the high-risk HPV (i.e. human papillomavirus). If the test result is positive and an HPV infection is diagnosed, you will be referred to gynaecological screening to receive a more accurate screening sample. Then, the HPV sample will also be used for a Pap smear (a cervical cytology examination). The results of this test will determine what kind of follow-up is needed.

What is the purpose of the study?

The study aims to find out how viable HPV self-sampling that you can perform by yourself at home is as a screening method for cervical cancer. The goal is to facilitate women’s participation in screening and increase coverage for cervical cancer screening in the regions where the study will be conducted.

The purpose of increased screening coverage is to detect and treat any severe cancer precursor changes in the cervix before they become malignant.

If the results of the self-sampling study are encouraging, self-sampling may be offered as a part of screening protocol in the future.

Read more about the study on HPV self-sampling