New test for common cancer could save lives with faster results
A SIMPLE new swab test can pick up womb cancer faster and more accurately than ever, say scientists.
Just one swab can be enough to detect a tumour – and women can do it themselves at home.
Standard tests for the cancer, which affects 10,000 women a year in the UK, include ultrasound scans and biopsies which are slow and uncomfortable.
PCR technology like that used in Covid tests can check DNA within hours for damage that signals cancer is growing, a trial found.
Inventor Professor Martin Widschwendter, from University College London, hopes the test could be used on the NHS within a few years, following larger studies.
He said: “Using our test, far fewer women will have to undergo invasive diagnostic procedures.
“Our results can also be returned quickly, reducing anxiety.”
A trial on 1,288 women found the test detected all cases of cancer in the 63 patients who had it.
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And the false positive rate was lower than for traditional tests, scientists said in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, meaning fewer women got cancer scares in error.
The vaginal swab test was used on patients who experienced bleeding even though they had been through the menopause – a red flag symptom of the cancer.
Other signs include lower back or pelvic pain, pain during sex or blood in the urine.
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Athena Lamnisos, chief of the Eve Appeal charity that funded the research, said: “When a patient is referred for diagnosis with abnormal bleeding, the wait and the procedure is really tough.
“This research shows real promise in reducing the time to diagnosis, providing a specific diagnosis for everyone and reducing the need for painful and invasive interventions.”