{"id":38658,"date":"2024-07-17T05:52:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T05:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/diy-kits-could-boost-cervical-cancer-checks-by-one-million\/"},"modified":"2024-07-17T05:52:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T05:52:17","slug":"diy-kits-could-boost-cervical-cancer-checks-by-one-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/diy-kits-could-boost-cervical-cancer-checks-by-one-million\/","title":{"rendered":"DIY kits could boost cervical-cancer checks by one million"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\n
By\u00a0James Gallagher,\u00a0<\/span>@JamesTGallagher<\/a>,\u00a0Health and science correspondent, BBC News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The cervix is the canal joining the vagina and the womb<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

More than one million extra women could have life-saving cervical-cancer checks if the NHS adopted do-it-yourself testing, researchers estimate.<\/p>\n

The team at King\u2019s College London said the results of its self-testing trial were \u201cfantastic\u201d and \u201cgave power to women\u201d.<\/p>\n

The kits are like a Covid swab but longer and are posted to a lab for analysis.<\/p>\n

The NHS called the findings extremely positive and is assessing whether to roll out the scheme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

There are more than 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer in the UK each year. <\/p>\n

The cervix is the small opening joining the top of the vagina to the base of the womb.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘Uncomfortable experience’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

Women are invited for cervical-cancer screening \u2013 what used to be known as the smear test \u2013 every three to five years between the ages of 25 and 65.<\/p>\n

But about 4.6 million women in England \u2013 nearly a third of those offered screening \u2013 do not come forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cCervical cancer screening has been in decline for the last 20 years,\u201d a senior consultant on the trial, Mairead Lyons, said.<\/p>\n

“Many women will describe it as an uncomfortable experience [or they are] too busy, embarrassed or afraid of the physical experience of it.”<\/p>\n

The YouScreen trial is the first time self-testing has been offered as part of cervical-cancer screening in the UK.<\/p>\n

Women, and people with a cervix, were offered a self-testing kit in one of two ways:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • If they were six months overdue for screening and went to their GP for any reason, their doctor would be automatically alerted and offer a kit<\/li>\n
  • If they were 15 months overdue for screening, a kit was sent to their home address<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
    \n
    \n
    \"YouScreenYouScreen<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    The swab looks for HPV, the driving force behind most cervical cancers<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
    \n

    The kit contains a long cotton-wool bud, used to swab the lining of the vagina for about 20 seconds.<\/p>\n

    This is sent to a laboratory to test for human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes most cervical cancers.<\/p>\n

    If this is positive, they are invited for a further test to see if any cells in the cervix have started the journey to becoming a cancer.<\/p>\n

    The trial ran in five London boroughs, in 2021, and 27,000 test kits were offered.<\/p>\n

    The results, published in eClinicalMedicine, showed:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • 56% completed tests offered by their GP <\/li>\n
    • 13% completed tests posted to their home<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      If these results were replicated across the whole of England, the researchers estimate it would increase the proportion screened from 69.9% to 77.3% – about one million extra women over a three-year screening cycle.<\/p>\n

      The trial also showed self-testing reached women irrespective of their ethnicity or wealth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      ‘A game-changer’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
      \n

      \u201cI am so excited by it,” Ms Lyons told me.<\/p>\n

      “I\u2019ve spent over 30 years in the health service and this is fantastic.”<\/p>\n

      Dr Anita Lim, from King\u2019s College London, said: \u201cSelf-sampling has been hailed as a game-changer for cervical screening – and we now have evidence in a UK population to show that it really is.\u201d <\/p>\n

      Self-testing is already offered in Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.<\/p>\n

      NHS England screening and vaccination director Deborah Tomalin called the trial results \u201cextremely promising\u201d.<\/p>\n

      \u201cThe NHS will now be working with the UK National Screening Committee to consider the feasibility of rolling this out more widely across England,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      Meanwhile, the HPV vaccine is cutting cervical cancer by nearly 90%.<\/p>\n

      And Prof Peter Sasieni, who was also involved in the self-testing trial, said young women who had had the HPV vaccine in childhood may need only one to three cervical cancer screenings in their lifetime. <\/p>\n

      No changes to the screening programme for vaccinated women have yet been made so the advice is to attend when invited for screening.<\/p>\n

      But he added: “Unfortunately, women born before 1990 are unlikely to benefit from the HPV vaccine, so regular screening is vitally important to protect those who have not been vaccinated.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      Main symptoms of cervical cancer<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
      \n
        \n
      • vaginal bleeding that’s unusual for you \u2013 including during or after sex, between periods or after the menopause – or heavier periods than usual <\/li>\n
      • changes to vaginal discharge<\/li>\n
      • pain during sex or in the lower back, lower tummy or between the hip bones (pelvis)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Source: NHS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n