Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/AXAhkfaBmEA

 

A novel cervical swab test can identify pre-cancerous cervical cell changes some 4 years before they trigger cancer.  Austrian and British oncologic researchers have developed a test that analyzes the levels of DNA methylation in cervical cells captured on the cotton swab.

 

The test detects cervical cell cancer transformation with a 92.7% sensitivity for women over the age of 30 years.  When this test was performed on 428 cervical cell samples free of overt cancer but at risk for developing cancer due to the presence of human papilloma virus, the test correctly identified 55% of the women who would later develop overt cervical cancer over a 1-4 year period.

 

Not a perfect result but a very promising start that will become more precise with additional work.  BTW: the same test can forecast ovarian and breast cancer.

 

https://genomemedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13073-022-01116-9

 

#cervicalcancer #dna #methylation #hpv #carcinomainsitu