Non-invasive urine test could help identify cervical cancer risk

A non-invasive urine test could be used by women to detect their risk of developing cervical cancer without needing to visit the doctor.

Researchers have developed a way to identify pre-cancer lesions by analysing urine and vaginal samples that could be collected by women in the comfort of their own home.

The “self-sampling” test proved popular with women taking part in the study, meaning it is likely to improve participation in cervical screening programmes if made widely available, they believe.

Dr Belinda Nedjai, director of the molecular epidemiology lab at Queen Mary University of London, said: “The initial use of self-sampling is likely to be for women who do not attend clinic after a screening invitation, and countries without a cervical cancer screening programme.

“In the longer term, selfsampling could become the standard method for all screening tests.

“The study indicated that women much preferred doing a test at home than attending a doctor’s surgery.”

She added: “We expect the self-sampling test to improve acceptance rates for cervical cancer screening, as well as reducing costs to health services and improving the performance of screening programmes.”

Dr Nedjai told the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference in Glasgow that the study was the largest to test for the S5 methylation classifier, a chemical change to one of the four DNA base letters that make up the human genetic code.

In urine samples, the S5 test was better at correctly identifying women who did have pre-cancer lesions than existing HPV tests.