Women could be of fered DIY smear tests to boost screening

WOMEN could be offered DIY smear test kits in an effort to improve uptake of cervical cancer screening.

The UK-wide National Screening Committee is considering sending ‘self-sample’ tests to women who do not respond to clinic invitations.

Cervical cancer screening has fallen to an all-time low. Almost 400,000 women have smear tests in Scotland every year, but only around 70 per cent of those who are eligible attend their checks.

Last week figures indicated that across the UK nearly five million women are overdue for testing.

Home testing kits were used in a trial in Dumfriesshire by Dr Heather Currie, associate gynaecologist at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.

It included more than 5,000 women, who were given kits and asked to provide a sample. The trial compared results of self-test kits with lab results on the same women, which showed they were accurate and just as effective as the traditional test.

A separate study published in the British Medical Journal also found DIY tests were nearly as accurate as those done in a clinic.

The researchers, from the Belgian Cancer Centre in Brussels, wrote: ‘Offering self-sampling kits … is more effective in reaching under-screened women than sending invitations.’

The team reviewed 81 studies which examined the accuracy and uptake of home tests. They found results from DIY kits were 10 per cent less effective and produced a higher rate of ‘false positives’, meaning women might be incorrectly told they have problems.

As a result, the researchers stressed the tests should not replace clinics, but could be used for women who do not feel comfortable visiting a doctor.

DIY testing could be made possible if doctors create a more sensitive cervical test which uses a swab to test for the HPV virus.

At present a smear test involves testing for abnormalities in cells on the cervix. However, the test will soon be changed to test first for the HPV virus – with follow-up tests and treatment if it is present. This is being rolled out across the NHS, and by December 2019 all women will be able to get it.

Around 3,200 British women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and 1,000 die. These rates are predicted to rise nearly 40 per cent over the next 20 years. Experts say the disease would kill another 2,000 women every year if it were not for screening.

Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said: ‘It’s very positive to see further research showing the benefits of HPV self-sampling and hopefully this can help it becoming closer to reality.’