A new, very simple technique for screening for cervical cancer has just been developed by Indian researchers. The vinegar test could save the lives of thousands of women.
Vinegar and a cotton swab to detect cervical cancer? Although the method may come as a surprise, it is the new, easy and inexpensive screening test just presented at the 2013 US Cancer Congress. The technique could potentially save thousands of lives in poor countries.
Cervical cancer can often be spotted at an early stage and even prevented with screening based on regular smears. The prevention of these cancers also relies on anti-HPV vaccination. But poor countries cannot benefit from these excessively costly prevention tools. As a result, in India for example, this disease is the leading cause of cancer death in women. However, an Indian study led by Prof. Surendra Srinivas Shastri could be a game-changer.
The research was carried out for 15 years among 150,000 Indian women aged 35 to 64, with no history of cervical cancer. Half had a biennial examination with vinegar and the other half had no test. And the new technique used is very simple. It consists of applying vinegar to the cervix using a cotton swab. After 60 seconds, the cervix is examined with the naked eye using a halogen lamp. Precancerous tissue turns white when vinegar is applied, while healthy tissue does not change color. Results are available in less than a minute. “This method of visual detection of uterine cancer is within the reach of all, after a fairly simple 4-week training”, specify the researchers.
In the end, the impact cervical cancer was comparable in the two groups, 26.5 per 100,000 in those screened and 26.7 per 100,000 in the others. But the good news is that in the group that received the vinegar test, there was a 31% reduction in the death rate. The precocity of the screening obviously makes it possible to start the treatments earlier. “We hope that the results of this study will have a significant effect in reducing the burden of cervical cancer in India and around the world. We are already working with state and national health authorities in India to make this screening technique and medical education accessible to all women in the country, ”said Dr Surendra Srinivas Shastri, Professor of Oncology and main author of this study.
Researchers estimate that this simple test could save 22,000 lives each year in India and 73,000 lives in other low-income countries. Cervical cancer is estimated to be the third most common cancer in women. 275,000 die of it each year around the world.
.
