Supporting the National Expansion of HPV-based Cervical Cancer Screening in Tanzania Among Women Living With HIV

August 17, 2026 updated by: Dr. Karen Yeates

Supporting the National Expansion of HPV-based Cervical Cancer Screening in Tanzania Among Women Living With HIV: NECST-HIV

  • Cervical cancer is caused by persistent infections with one of ~13 carcinogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types and causes substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide.
  • Highly effective strategies exist, including HPV vaccination and HPV-based screening for early detection and treatment of precancerous lesions.
  • The investigators are proposing an innovative implementation research program and randomized trial evaluating HPV DNA testing as a primary screening tool for cervical cancer screening in HIV Care and Treatment clinics within Tanzania's National Cervical Cancer Prevention (CECAP) program.
  • The investigators will combine HPV DNA testing with high quality visual assessment of the cervix for treatment and management of cervical precancerous lesions among HPV+ Women Living with HIV (WLWH).
  • At 12-month follow up women will be recalled for repeat screening for HPV and visual assessment of the cervix for treatment combined with a second therapeutic dose of HPV vaccine.
  • The investigators propose to recruit 2000 WLWH from 4 HIV Clinics in Kilimanjaro Region. Two clinics will be randomized to the test, treat and vaccinate strategy and two clinics will be randomized to test, treat and re-screen and then vaccinate strategy.
  • Currently, there is no Standard of Care (SOC) for vaccination of women who are at risk for HPV in the country. These two arms of the study will allow for treatment and observation to occur that would not be available otherwise.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
2000

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Tanzania
      • Moshi, Tanzania
        • Pamoja Tunaweza Women's Centre

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Gender: person with an intact cervix
  • HIV type 1 (HIV-1) positive status and receiving care at one of the study CTC sites randomized for the trial
  • Not pregnant and utilizing contraception if sexually active and willing to undergo a urine pregnancy test prior to enrolment
  • Residence in the study-defined catchment area
  • Willing to consent to receive follow-up phone calls from the health provider to provide reminders and counselling about follow-up visits required for the study procedures
  • Willing to receive HPV Vaccination in a 2-dose strategy
  • Language: able to speak/understand English or Kiswahili (if the participant cannot read, the consent will be read to her, and thumbprint will suffice for consent as per the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research Ethical Guidelines for Informed Consent Processes)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women will be excluded for a prior history of invasive or microinvasive cervical, vaginal, vulvar, or anal cancer; prior hysterectomy; cervical treatments within 1 year prior to study; cervical, vaginal, or vulvar lesions suspicious for cancer; prior HPV vaccination; receipt of anticoagulants; known sensitivity to vaccine components; hemophilia or bleeding diathesis; use of antineoplastic or immunomodulatory treatment; breastfeeding; and <3 months postpartum. Any potential participant who appears unable to provide informed consent or does not want to participate in the research study will be excluded.

Women that do not want to receive the vaccine will be excluded.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Screening
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Vaccination starting from visit 1
Vaccination will be provided at the first visit and then at 6 months for HPV negative women and 12 months for HPV positive women.
Biological: Vaccination Provision
HPV vaccination #1 will be offered by provider at the first visit when the HPV self-sample is collected. HPV Vaccination #2 will be offered at 6 months for HPV negative women and at 12 months for HPV positive women.
Experimental: Vaccination starting at follow up
Vaccination will be provided after HPV results obtained - immediately for HPV negative women and again after 3 months. For HPV positive women this will be offered at 12 months after testing and again at 15 months.
Biological: Vaccination Provision 2

HPV vaccination #1 will be offered by the provider after an HPV negative result is received with vaccine #2 given at 3 months after negative test results obtained.

For HPV positive women - vaccination #1 will be offered at 12 months and vaccination #2 will be offered at the 15 month mark.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Evidence Generation for use of a 4-step HPV testing, triage and vaccinate strategy
Time Frame: 15 months
The primary endpoint will be a composite of HSIL on cervical histology at 12 months re-screening (follow-up). Secondary endpoints will include CIN3 on cervical histology, and grade 3 or 4 adverse events related to vaccination. Additional secondary endpoints will include participant-level predictors that may act as moderators of participation in cervical cancer screening and/or HPV vaccination. The investigators will also collect qualitative and quantitative data on the feasibility, impact, and cost-effectiveness of the different screening strategies through key informant interviews and focus groups comprised on clinic leadership, health providers and study participants.
15 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Dr. Karen Yeates

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Merck Canada Inc.

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Karen Yeates, MD,MPH, Queen's University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 25, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 5, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 2, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 7, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 17, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 102030

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings