HPV testRO

The HPV test · your result

Your result says “HPV positive”. Most often the next step is another test a year later

A positive HPV test shows an infection with a very common virus that the body usually clears by itself. Romania's national screening method sets out exactly what happens next, depending on what the laboratory found in the same sample.

Don't wait for a screening test if you have symptoms. Bleeding during or after sex, between periods or after the menopause, a change in vaginal discharge, pain during sex, or pain in the lower tummy or lower back: tell a doctor now, whenever your last test was.

What does your result say?

Pick what your report says

You have an infection but the cells look normal. You repeat the HPV test after 12 months: if it is negative then, you return to routine screening; if positive again, you go for colposcopy whatever the cytology.

What HPV positive actually means

The test looks for 14 high-risk HPV types: 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68. “Positive” means at least one is present in the cervix. More than 95% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV, but the reverse is not true: most infections clear without treatment.

That is why the method never sends anyone to treatment for a positive HPV test alone. The laboratory first looks at the cells in the same sample. If they are normal, it waits a year: an infection that goes away no longer matters; one that stays is the one that can, over years, produce lesions. The World Health Organization estimates that it usually takes 15–20 years from the first abnormal cells to cancer, and 5–10 years in women with weakened immunity.

  1. The cervical sample
    1. HPV test (14 high-risk types)
      1. NegativeNext test in 3 years (25–29) or 5 years (30–65)
      2. PositiveCytology on the same sample
        1. Normal cellsHPV test again after 12 monthsnegative: back to routine · positive: colposcopy
        2. Abnormal cellsColposcopy, biopsy if needed, treatment of the lesion
What follows each result under Romania's national method.

If you are sent for colposcopy

Colposcopy is an examination of the cervix with an illuminated magnifier, done by a gynaecologist. If the doctor sees an abnormal area, they take a small sample (biopsy), read by a pathologist. For women with abnormal cytology, the Insurance House pays for the “colposcopy, biopsy and histopathology” package (251 lei) and, if the biopsy shows a precancerous lesion, for treatment by excision or local destruction of the area (453 lei), done as an outpatient under local anaesthetic.

Precancerous lesions are not cancer. They are exactly what screening looks for: cells that could become cancer years later, caught while they can be removed simply.

Frequently asked questions

Does HPV positive mean cancer?

No. It means an infection with a high-risk HPV type. Most infections clear on their own; screening follows only those that stay.

What do I do with HPV positive and normal cytology?

You repeat the HPV test 12 months later. If it is still positive, you go for colposcopy, whatever the cytology. If negative, you return to routine screening.

What do ASC-US, LSIL or HSIL on my result mean?

They are Bethesda categories of abnormal cells. Alongside a positive HPV test, any of them means referral for colposcopy.

Does my partner need testing?

The method does not provide for testing partners. HPV is very common in both sexes, and the national programme has no screening test for men.

What does an “unsatisfactory sample” mean?

The sample could not be read: too few cells, inflammation, a labelling error or an expired container. The test is repeated three months later.

Sources and method

Checked on 27 September 2026. Next check due by 31 March 2027. Responsible for publication: Marius Comper.

This page explains the programme's rules and where to get tested. It does not diagnose and does not replace a consultation.

The programme rules (ages, intervals, the steps after a result) come from the 2024 method. The payment routes come from the National Health Insurance House rules as of January 2026: we looked for the HPV test in the list of tests paid to laboratories and did not find it, unlike cytology; we found it in the outpatient gynaecology packages. There is no public national list of practices contracted for this package, so the steps say what to ask.

The CLARA centres are the project's partner hospitals. For the North-East, North-West, Centre, South-Muntenia and West, the region is confirmed by the hospital or local press; for South-West Oltenia (Craiova), South-East (Constanța) and Bucharest-Ilfov (the “Trestioreanu” Oncology Institute) we matched the partner to the region it is in. Counties are grouped by Romania's development regions.

The calculation starts from your year of birth, so your age may be off by a year. “Skipped” tests are the moments the programme would have called you, counted from 25 or from your last test; the HPV-based method only began in 2024, so they show what today's rules would have scheduled, not a failing of yours.

The comparison with Sweden uses Eurostat's age-standardised rate, not the number of deaths, because the populations differ.

Further reading

Sorana Stănescu writes “Foaia de observație”, a Romanian-language newsletter on how the Romanian health system works in practice. Two of her pieces on screening: “How to check your cancer risk” (January 2025) and “Cancer screening in Romania, a puzzle” (June 2025).

Also in this guide