A new test could be a more effective early warning system for preventing cervical cancer than the traditional smear according to Cancer Research UK scientists
A new test could be a more effective early warning system for preventing cervical cancer than the traditional smear according to Cancer Research UK scientists.
A report, published last week in The Lancet, says that the test, which is designed to detect a virus that causes almost all cervical cancer, is far more sensitive than the smear.
The results of the study, involving 11,000 British women aged 30-60, suggest that this test has the potential to become the main screening tool for preventing cervical cancer.
Scientists found that the test for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) detected 97 per cent of significant cervical abnormalities compared to 76 per cent for the smear. Professor Jack Cuzick, Cancer Research UK's head of epidemiology, based at Queen Mary, University of London, led the study.
He says: "Our findings are so promising that a pilot project should now be set up to see how the new test should be integrated into the existing cervical screening programme." HPV infection is extremely common, but most infections disappear without causing any disease and without the need for treatment. Only when the infection persists can it cause cervical cancer. The study focussed on how best to use the test's greater sensitivity without over-treating infections that would otherwise be cleared naturally by the body's immune system.
The authors suggest that HPV testing could be the primary screening test and smears would be done (using the remainder of the sample) only in women who tested positive for the virus.
If that smear were negative, the study showed that it was safe to monitor these women by re-testing a year later to see if the infection had disappeared.
Scientists also believe that this approach could reduce the number of women who are needlessly referred to hospital clinics because of false positive smear test results. Professor Cuzick says: "We have known for decades that Human Papilloma Virus is the primary cause of cervix cancer.
"We now have a test that can very accurately detect its presence. "It's time to put this knowledge into practice so that women can benefit from these discoveries.
"The recent decision by the NHS screening programme to defer cervical screening until the age of 25 also makes HPV testing more attractive because there will be fewer false positives after this age." Professor Peter Sasieni, of Cancer Research UK, who co-authored the report, says: "The recent decision by the NHS Screening Programme to introduce liquid based cytology in cervical screening will reduce the number of inadequate smear tests, but is unlikely to have a substantial impact on cervical cancer rates.
"HPV testing offers the best hope of improving the effectiveness of cervical screening.
"The HPV test can be performed on the same sample as is used for the smear test. "So there is no need for women with HPV to come back for another test."
