A womb cancer test could potentially cut the diagnosis time and reduce the need for more invasive diagnostic procedures, new research has revealed.
A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has found that cheap PCR tests that took samples from the cervix or vagina successfully detected the presence of womb cancer, Sky News reports. In the UK at the moment, those who present the common symptoms of womb cancer - such as abnormal bleeding - are offered a transvaginal ultrasound.
If doctors are concerned about the thickness of a patients womb lining, they may need to conduct more invasive tests, such as hysteroscopies or biopsies - which individuals have described as being painful. Campaigners and scientists have hoped that these new tests will reduce the need for more invasive procedures to be carried out.
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Professor Martin Widschwendter, from the European Translational Oncology Prevention and Screening Institute at the University of Innsbruck and UCL's Department of Women's Cancer in the UK, said: "It was critical to us that this research addressed all of the issues associated with current detection methods for womb cancer.
"Most importantly, using our test, far fewer women with abnormal bleeding will have to undergo invasive diagnostic procedures."
Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of charity The Eve Appeal, said: "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.
"It really does bring early detection of cancer one stage closer."
Early results from the study show that the test was as effective for groups of all ages, ethnicities, pre-or-post menopausal, and whatever stage, grade and type of cancer they may have. The researchers used 1,288 cervical screening samples from women with and without womb cancer collected by a large team of investigators across the UK and Europe.
The tests successfully detected all eight of the womb cancers that were mixed among 63 women presenting with post-menopausal bleeding. Only a handful of women received a positive result without having cancer, making it more accurate than transvaginal ultrasounds, with a specificity of 89 per cent.
Developed by Professor Widschwendter and his team at the University of Innsbruck and UCL, the test was funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 and European Research Council programmes, The Eve Appeal, and the regional government of the Tirol region of Austria.
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