First-void urine: A potential biomarker source for triage of high-risk human papillomavirus infected women.

Aim: To review urinary biomarkers for cervical cancer and triage of high-risk human papillomavirus infections and to elaborate on the opportunities and challenges that have emerged regarding the use of first-void urine as a liquid biopsy for the analysis of both morphological- and molecular-based biomarkers.

Affiliations: Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination (CEV) and the Laboratory of Medical Microbiology (LMM)and Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO) of the University of Antwerp; Multidisciplinary Breast Clinic of the Antwerp University Hospital; Laboratory of Protein Science, Proteomics & Epigenetic Signaling (PPES) of the University of Antwerp; Centre for Statistics, of the Hasselt University

Summary: There is growing interest in identifying biomarkers from non-invasive, self-collected samples, which might address both the non-adherence to screening issue and distinguishing clinically relevant, transforming HR-HPV infections from productive infections. Consequently, the use of self-sampling methods that increase compliance with cervical cancer screening and reduce loss to follow-up will likely increase in the near future.