The DIY urine sample test for cervical cancer trumpeted in a new study this week — but not yet on the market — does not mean screening for the disease at home can replace a doctor’s visit, according to SurvivorNet’s experts. In other words, women, don’t stop getting tested by your gynecologists.
“Additional trials will be important to assess the test characteristics — sensitivity, specificity, false positive and negative rates — to make sure that [these type of] tests are reliable,” Dr. Douglas Levine, gynecological oncologist at NYU Langone Health, tells SurvivorNet.
Cervical Cancer Screening: What You Need To Know
- The new DIY test for cervical cancer is not close to being ready for women to use
- Women between the ages of 21 and 65 should get a pap smear every three years
- The pap smear is the most effective way to screen for cervical cancer
The DIY Study
The latest study, conducted by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and presented at the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Glasgow, quoted study researcher Dr. Belinda Nedjal, who said that the DIY test proved very popular with women and would likely increase participation in cervical cancer testing as a result.
Six-hundred women took part, all of whom had been referred due to a need for further testing. They provided self-collected samples for what’s called an “S5” test, which looks for “DNA methylation.” This signals if there pre-cancerous lesions, or signs that cancer might develop.
Doctors can then treat the pre-cancer to prevent the full-blown disease. In prior research, the study says, the test proved to be 100 percent effective at detecting invasive cervical cancer using cervical samples, and 93 percent accurate for detecting precancerous lesions in women who had an HPV positive test also using the cervical samples.
Hope For Developing Nations
In theory, this type of test could also be useful in nations with less access to other types of screening. “For certain patient populations, a self-administered, non-invasive test will be invaluable to increase screening,” says Dr. Levine, However, he cautions, “to make this relevant for developing countries, who bear the greatest burden for cervical cancer, the cost and stability of the test — i.e. does it need tight temperature control, refrigeration? — will be other important considerations going forward.”
“We are currently working on new markers to try to improve the accuracy of the classifier even further, but these findings represent an advance in cervical cancer screening,” says Dr. Nedjal. “Especially for women who do not attend the clinic, such as older women, or women who find the smear test too painful or who do not have access to a screening program in their country. We think it’s promising.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
