Australia’s first anal cancer screening guidelines released, but there’s a catch
An application for the MBS listing of anal HPV testing, cytology, HRA and HSIL treatment is under consideration.
Australia has moved a step closer to anal cancer screening for people with HIV with the release of new best practice guidelines.
The guidelines, released by ASHM in March, recommend three-yearly HPV screening for at-risk individuals, with similar triage to the cervical screening program.
However, guideline co-writer Professor Jason Ong cautions that the recommended pathways cannot yet be implemented because infrastructure, including access to high-resolution anoscopy (HRA), is limited.
“Right now, the alternative is the annual digital anorectal examination, which GPs can perform, but it is not a substitute for HRA,” Professor Ong, director of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and a GP, told AusDoc.
