Durban - With new research suggesting that Pap smears could miss up to 46 percent of cervical cancer cases, home testing and co-testing is proving to be a popular option.
During Cervical Health Awareness Month, the Pap smear and home testing kits and their efficacy in picking up health problems have come under the microscope.
Gynaecological oncologist Dr Kamendran Govender, who is based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said home DNA tests for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) had some advantages in that they could be done in the comfort of your home and were less invasive.
DNA typing was necessary because not all strains of the virus were dangerous.
“But the user could take a sample from the incorrect area. Transporting the test to a laboratory, depending on the conditions it’s exposed to, could also affect its efficacy.”
He said ideally the two tests should be paired in a combined screening programme. “Both are useful and must be used independently of each other to make sure of the results.”
He said Pap smears detected changes in the cells on the cervix before they became cancerous.
The Pap smear “is not ideal in terms of testing the DNA of the strain of HPV (to see if it is harmful) so DNA screening specifically for HPV needs to form part of the testing process”.
Vaccinating against HPV was also an option. He said the roll-out of vaccines had begun in the Western Cape with a long-term plan to roll them out nationwide. They needed to be given to young girls and boys between the ages of nine and 12, or as old as 16, before they had made their sexual debut, as a preventive measure. They could also be used by adults who had not yet had their first sexual experience.
According to developers of a home HPV testing device and service, UDoTest, cervical cancer kills 10 women every day in South Africa.About 20 percent of women in South African companies “are living with the high-risk strains of HPV, which are the cause of 99 percent of cervical cancers, but have no visible symptoms”, said the company.
Dr Chris Maske, head of the molecular pathology laboratory at Lancet Laboratories, said: “With the introduction of HPV DNA testing, there is absolutely no need for any woman in this day and age to develop cervical cancer, let alone die from the disease. It has the highest death rate amongst women in South Africa.”
Dr Allison Glass, clinical virologist at Lancet Laboratories, said: “We always relied on the Pap smear as a screening test, but now large studies have shown that HPV testing is a much better test for detecting women who are at risk for cervical cancer,”
The test’s founder, Allison Martin, said it was an attractive option because it allowed women to take their own samples whenever and wherever it suited them. It also offered an excellent service with regard to delivering and fetching the kit, and ensuring that the client received her result and post-screening support.
“The HPV lab test is exactly the same as the one that would be done on a sample collected by a doctor and is run at an accredited laboratory, so the results are reliable,” said Glass.
“Women now no longer have any excuses. With discreet delivery and collection, convenience, screening every two to five years, and a test that takes 30 seconds to do, what more could we ask for?” said Martin.
The Mercury