Routine HPV screening is designed to identify a virus linked to cervical cancer. Seegene, a South Korean molecular diagnostics company specializing in multiplex PCR testing, says its latest data raise a broader question for laboratories: how often does an HPV test reveal only part of what is happening?
In an analysis of about 60,000 HPV and sexually transmitted infection tests collected over 42 months, Seegene found STI pathogens in 82% of HPV-positive cases. HPV was also detected in 46% of STI-positive cases, while 71% of positive cases identified through combined testing showed both HPV and at least one STI pathogen.
The findings matter beyond South Korea because they point to a broader shift in molecular diagnostics. Instead of running separate tests for individual pathogens, laboratories are increasingly able to use multiplex PCR systems that search for several infections within the same testing process. If that approach proves clinically useful, it could allow laboratories to obtain a broader picture from a single workflow while reducing the need for multiple separate tests.
That is the approach Seegene is promoting. The company uses syndromic PCR to test for multiple pathogens associated with the same clinical condition at once. In the case of HPV and STIs, Seegene says the method could help identify asymptomatic sexually transmitted infections, detect additional infections in HPV-positive patients and support evaluations related to pregnancy planning and infertility.
The findings, however, do not by themselves establish that combined HPV and STI testing should become routine clinical practice. The data were analyzed by Seegene using STAgora, its diagnostic-data platform, and broader testing would still need to show that detecting additional infections provides enough clinical value to justify wider use.
Seegene plans to examine that question through its Global Million Clinical Study, an initiative intended to generate a much larger body of clinical evidence for comprehensive PCR testing. The company says the project will help evaluate whether combined testing can support new approaches to diagnosing genital infections.
The company will also present the research plan at ADLM 2026 in Anaheim, California, from Aug. 28 through Aug. 30. The U.S. meeting gives Seegene an opportunity to put its syndromic PCR strategy before laboratory professionals as it seeks broader clinical validation for the approach.
Seegene is supporting that strategy with CURECA, its automated PCR system, and STAgora, which is designed to analyze and share diagnostic data. Together, the technologies reflect the company’s effort to combine broader pathogen detection with greater automation in molecular diagnostics.
The 60,000-test analysis therefore represents more than a set of HPV and STI statistics. It is an early test of whether comprehensive PCR screening can provide enough additional clinical information to justify changing how laboratories look for infections that frequently occur together.
