LONDON (Reuters) – A simple urine test for the virus that causes cervical cancer could offer a less invasive and more acceptable alternative to the conventional cervical smear test, researchers said yesterday.
In a study comparing the accuracy of urine sample testing with smear testing conducted by a doctor, scientists from Britain and Spain found the results were good and said using the urine test to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) could lead to more women agreeing to be screened.
“The detection of HPV in urine is non-invasive, easily accessible and acceptable to women, and a test with these qualities could considerably increase uptake,” the researchers said yesterday in thebmj.com, the online version of the British Medical Journal.
The study, which analysed 14 studies involving 1,443 sexually active women, was led by Neha Pathak of the women’s health research unit at Queen Mary University of London.
Compared with cervical smear samples, urine HPV testing had an overall sensitivity — the proportion of positives correctly identified — of 87 per cent, and a specificity — the proportion of negatives correctly identified — of 94 per cent.
Urine testing for the particularly high risk strains of HPV that cause the majority of cervical cancer cases, had an overall sensitivity of 73 per cent and a specificity of 98 per cent compared with cervical samples.
HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, with up to 80 per cent of sexually active women infected at some point in their lives.
Infection with specific high risk strains of HPV can cause cervical cancer, which kills around 266,000 women a year globally, according to the World Health Organisation.
