DIY smear test kits are ‘just as accurate as a clinic’

WOMEN who skip cervical screening appointments should be offered home sample kits, a study suggested yesterday.

Researchers called for pilot schemes after they found home tests gave similar results to those done in a clinic.

It comes after Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust warned last week that the rate of smear test take-ups is at a 21-year low in England.

It said that in 1997, 82 per cent were screened for possible cervical cancer, but NHS Digital figures show that in 2017/18, just 71.4 per cent of women went for tests within the appropriate timeframe.

The study by experts from Australia and the US, published in the British Medical Journal, found selftests for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection were just as good at detecting cervical pre-cancer as those carried out by a healthcare worker.

And they found sending self-sample kits to people’s homes generated a higher response than a clinic invitation or reminder letter.

The authors said: “Offering self-sampling kits generally is more effective in reaching under-screened women than sending invitations.”

Yesterday Prime Minister Theresa May urged more women to take smear tests.

Addressing the issue in Parliament, she said: “Smear tests are not nice... but they are important.

“If you want to see cancer detected early, have your smear test. A few minutes of discomfort could be saving your life.”