Researchers at the University of Louisville in the United States have just developed a test that uses a technique of heating the blood to identify, less invasively than with a smear, whether a woman has cancer. cervix. Heating the blood and its different proteins provides a kind of fingerprint that allows scientists to see if the person who donated blood is suffering from cervical cancer, and also allows us to see at what stage. cancer is advanced, “because the blood responds to heat very differently depending on the disease.
“Of course, there is no question of replacing the smear, which remains the main way to diagnose cervical cancer,” said Dr Nichola Garbett, who led this research. “But this test could complement the traditional smear and help doctors monitor the effectiveness of treatment.”
This technique has already been used by scientists to identify cancers of the lungs, skin, ovarian and uterine cancers as well as other diseases including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or Lyme disease. .
There are around 3,000 new cases of uterine cancer each year in France. This cancer develops on the lining of the cervix and is mainly due to papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus. It mainly affects women around 40, but more and more also young women. Detected early, he treats himself very well.
