End of the smear test?
A quick urine check is ‘just as good’ at finding virus linked to cervical cancer
A QUicK urine test could offer women a less invasive alternative to a smear test, research suggests.
British scientists have found that urine tests accurately screen for HPv (human papil-loma virus) which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer.
Women aged between 25 and 49 are invited for screening every three years – rising to every five years for those aged 50 to 64.
But smear test attendance has fallen to an all-time low in Britain – with nearly five million women overdue for screening. Nearly a third are at risk because they have gone several years without a smear test, official statistics reveal. experts believe embarrassment, body consciousness and fear of the testing process is keeping women away. And earlier this month, research by the daily Mail revealed 43 per cent of women have delayed having a smear test because they could not get an appointment with their GP.
charities have said the proce-dure is becoming increasingly ‘inaccessible’ due to a shortage of slots at under-pressure surgeries.
Offering a less time-consuming or embarrassing alternative might increase screening uptake, researchers said. experts at Man-chester University found that urine testing was just as good as smear tests at picking up high-risk HPv – and can be done at home.
Study leader dr emma crosbie, whose team published their find-ings in the BMJ Open journal, said: ‘We’re really very excited by this study, which we think has the potential to significantly increase participation rates for cervical cancer screening in a key demo-graphic group.’ She said younger women or those with painful con-ditions such as endometriosis often skip traditional smear tests.
She said: ‘campaigns to encour-age women to attend cervical screening have helped. But sadly, the effects aren’t long lasting and participation rates tend to fall back after a while. We clearly need a more sustainable solution.’
Scientists assessed two different commonly used HPv testing kits, by comparing whether they picked up early signs of cervical cancer in the urine of 104 women at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester. Of these, 18 had pre- cancerous changes to the cervix that needed treatment. Using a kit made by the Roche company, 15 of the cases were detected in a urine sample – the same result as for vaginal self-samples and cervical smears. A second kit, made by Abbott, picked up the same amount of cases with a urine sam-ple, compared with 16 cases with vaginal self-samples and smears.
dr crosbie called the results ‘exciting’ but said it would need to be tested on more women before it can be rolled out across the NHS. Athena Lamnisos of the eve Appeal charity called the research ‘a promising early step’, but added: ‘in the meantime, women must book their screening appointment when they’re called.’