A new cervical cancer test has been found to detect all of the cancers according to breakthrough research.
In a randomised clinical screening trial of 15,744 women, the new cervical cancer test outperformed both the current Pap smear and human papillomavirus (HPV) test at a reduced cost, according to a study led by Queen Mary University of London.
The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, compared a new ‘epigenetics-based’ cervical cancer test with Pap smear and HPV tests, and investigated how well it predicted the development of cervical cancer up to five years in advance in a large study of women aged 25-65 in Canada.
As opposed to checking for patterns in the DNA genetic code itself that are indicative of the HPV virus, the new test looks at the naturally-occurring chemical markers that appear on top of the DNA, making up its ‘epigenetic profile’.
Lead researcher Professor Attila Lorincz from Queen Mary University of London, who also helped develop the world’s first test for HPV in 1988, says: “This is an enormous development. We’re not only astounded by how well this test detects cervical cancer, but it is the first time that anyone has proven the key role of epigenetics in the development of a major solid cancer using data from patients in the clinic. Epigenetic changes are what this cervical cancer test picks up and is exactly why it works so well.
“In contrast to what most researchers and clinicians are saying, we are seeing more and more evidence that it is in fact epigenetics, and not DNA mutations, that drives a whole range of early cancers, including cervical, anal, oropharyngeal, colon, and prostate.”
Screening to prevent cervical cancer is typically done through the Pap smear, which involves the collection, staining and microscopic examination of cells from the cervix. Unfortunately, the Pap smear can detect only around 50 per cent of cervical pre-cancers.
A much more accurate cervical screening method involves testing for the presence of DNA from the human papillomavirus (HPV) – the primary but indirect cause of cervical cancer.
However, the HPV test only identifies whether or not women are infected with a cancer-causing HPV, but not their actual risks of cancer, which remain quite low.
The new test was significantly better than either the Pap smear or HPV test. It detected 100 per cent of the eight invasive cervical cancers that developed in the 15,744 women during the trial. In comparison, the Pap smear only detected 25 per cent of the cancers, and the HPV test detected 50 per cent.
The authors say that using this test in the clinic would reduce the number of visits to the doctor and screening appointments, as high-grade disease would be detected from the start. They also say that if it was fully implemented, it would be cheaper than the Pap smear.
