Is this the end of smear testing?

Cervical smear tests could become a thing of the past after a method was devised that allows women to take samples at home and post them to the NHS.

The new test uses urine or a sample of cells that can be prepared in minutes with a simple vaginal swab. The news will be welcomed because studies have shown that women much prefer doing a test at home than attending a GP’s surgery.

The Times says it new test would eliminate the need for smear tests, which can be painful and which surveys suggest many women find embarrassing.

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The new test has significant accuracy: in a study of 600 patients ‘pre-cancer’ signs were identified with greater than 80% accuracy – similar to existing methods. The UK team behind the new tests hope they will become routine within three to five years.

Uptake for NHS cervical cancer screening is currently at a 21-year low but The Sun says that this could change as the “DIY pee test” is “game-changing” and “promises to revolutionise screening for the disease”.

Analysts say the new test could save the NHS cash by reducing the numbers of patients who are needlessly given a follow-up procedure called a colposcopy.

Manuel Rodriguez-Justo, a consultant pathologist at University College London, said that the news was “exciting” because it will allow samples “to be collected by women in the comfort and privacy of their own homes”.

Belinda Nedjai, of Queen Mary University of London: “These findings represent an advance in cervical cancer screening, especially for women who avoid the clinic, such as older women, or women who find the smear test too painful.”

Cervical cancer affects the lining of the lower part of womb. Jade Goody, who rose to fame in an early series of the reality television show Big Brother, died of cervical cancer aged just 27 in 2009.

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