Introduction
infection, pre-cancer, human papillomavirus
INFECTION, CERVICAL CANCER, CERVICAL CANCER, CERVICAL CANCER
Cervical cancer is caused by a persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and can be prevented by the adequate implementation of both HPV vaccination and organized screening programs [Cervical cytology has been widely implemented worldwide as a cervical cancer screening modality, which cannot be performed on a self-collected sample because of possible failure in securing a sufficient number of cervical cells. Therefore, this conventional screening needs to be performed at a medical institution to enable the collection of the sample by a doctor, and thus, involves physical and psychological barriers, such as a lack of time, embarrassment, discomfort, and fear [In line with this, we initiated a randomized controlled trial in 2020, the Accelerating Cervical Cancer Elimination by Self-Sampling test (ACCESS) trial, to evaluate the effectiveness of the self-sampling HPV test in cervical cancer screening uptake and pre-cancer detection. We conducted a pre-planned questionnaire survey as a part of this trial to examine the main reasons for not undergoing cervical cancer screening, knowledge about HPV, acceptability of the self-sampling HPV test, and screening preference among Japanese women. The opinions based on the experience of self-sampling in the target population for cervical cancer screening will provide meaningful information to implement the test as a practice.