In a new study, researchers found that urine test can be an effective way to prevent cervical cancer in women.
The research was conducted by University of Manchester scientists.
Cervical cancer is most common in women aged 30 to 35 years.
But the precancerous stage is detectable in the five to 10 years before this. About a third of women fail to do their smear test.
Many younger women avoid cervical cancer screening because they find it embarrassing or uncomfortable, particularly if they have gynecological conditions.
Previous research has shown that high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer.
Among the 100 or so types of HPV, some are linked to cervical cancer, such as HPV-16 and HPV-18.
In the study, the team examined 104 women at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester. They were screened using two brands of HPV testing kits.
About 18 women had pre-cancerous changes to the cervix that needed treatment.
With the Roche HPV testing kit, urine, vaginal self samples, and cervical smears picked up 15 of these.
With the Abbott HPV testing kit, urine picked up 15 of these and vaginal self samples and cervical smears picked up 16.
The findings show that cervical smear samples, self-collected vaginal samples, and urine samples can all pick up HPV effectively.
The research team suggests that urine is very simple to collect and most hospitals have access to the lab equipment to process and test the samples.
A urine test may help more women to screen for cervical cancer.
The leader of the study is Dr. Emma Crosbie.
The study is published in the BMJ Open. The research was supported by the Manchester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.
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