News about a Pap smear test to detect ovarian cancer has
spread quickly across the internet in the last couple days. Researchers from
John Hopkins published the study about it in Science
Translational Medicine.
But what does this actually mean?
A pap smear occurs during a woman’s yearly gynecological pelvic
exams. Usually, pap smears are performed to detect irregular cells and
potential cervical cancer. The doctor or nurse practitioner scrapes a little
brush across the cervix to collect cells, which are stored in a vial to be
examined under a microscope. The Pap Smear is no longer a smear these days, but
is a liquid-based test to check DNA for the HPV virus, which can cause cervical
cancer.
So how can this help to detect the elusive ovarian cancer?
Apparently cells flake off ovarian tumors or the uterus’s
lining. They float down to rest in the cervix. Although they’re also too rare to
recognize under a microscope, they can’t escape a DNA test. Detected gene
mutations reveal that cancer is present. This test is called the PapGene, which
is named after Georgios Papanicolaou, who revealed his “Pap” smear in 1943. The
test costs about $100 right now. If it becomes mass produced for commercial
use, it would become cheaper.
That is more good news for us.
Being able to detect ovarian and other endometrial cancers
early is a great achievement because over 22,000 women in the United States are
diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. Of that number, more than 15,000 die.
However, there’s a little
hiccup.
Because the discovery is still in an early stage of
research, we can’t expect any immediate changes to our yearly exams. It will
take years of additional testing to prove the findings. The next step is to
test it on hundreds of women—both with and without cancer diagnoses—instead of
the dozens that the initial study used.
Keep your fingers crossed.
References:
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