Cervical Pre-cancer Can Be Detected in Self-collected Urine or Vaginal Samples

Researchers have developed a non-invasive test to detect cervical pre-cancer by analyzing self-collected urine and vaginal samples. In a presentation at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference Dr Belinda Nedjai said that the self-sampling test had proved popular with women taking part in the study and this meant that it was likely to improve participation in cervical cancer screening programs. “The initial use of self-sampling is likely to be for women who do not attend clinic after a screening invitation and in countries without a cervical cancer screening program. In the longer term, self-sampling could become the standard method for all screening tests. The study indicated that women much preferred doing a test at home than attending a doctor’s surgery,” said Nedjai, who is Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Molecular Epidemiology Lab at Queen Mary University of London, UK. “To the best of our knowledge, this study is the largest to test a methylation classifier, called S5, in urine and self-collected cervical samples to detect pre-cancer lesions in women who have been referred for further investigation. We expect the self-sampling test to improve acceptance rates for cervical cancer screening, as well as reducing costs to health services and improving the performance of screening programs.” The current gold-standard pap smear test is taken in the clinic and often follows a positive test for the human papilloma virus (HPV). Nedjai said: “HPV testing is rapidly becoming the primary screening method for cervical cancer worldwide. It is a very sensitive method, very good at detecting true positives, but lacks specificity – in other words, a second test is needed to exclude HPV positive women that are not at increased risk of developing cancer. The choice of an appropriate strategy for high-risk HPV positive women is a key issue.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/diagnostics/news/cervical-pre-cancer-can-be-detected-in-self-collected-urine-or-vaginal-samples-326877?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=79033497&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-81UkAGRhEZzVH2O7aeUhiyElighjjjBLB3RcRUYO9y-4tmZhu4837Nbr5b8hBaO_Lx5E5md3kqvt184W5D4Qx_iG3D-g&_hsmi=79033497