One-minute test for cervical cancer, costs only Rs 2 NEW DELHI: Its good news. In less than a minute and for just Rs 2, women can now get tested for cervical lesions. A study has found VIA-visual inspection with acetic acid-to be a cost-effective screening method for cervical cancer. The accuracy of this test is comparable with the regular pap smear which is lab-based and costs nearly Rs 1,000. The study was conducted by the obstetrics and gynaecology department of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and published in the August edition of Journal of Current Medicine Research & Practice. Doctors conducted the test on 500 women. According to Dr Geeta Mediratta, author of the study and senior consultant at Sir Ganga Ram, VIA, with a high sensitivity, is comparable to pap smear and can be used as an alternate screening test especially in low-resource settings where the expertise to conduct definitive tests is not available, our findings have suggested. Experts say, in developing countries like India, where expertise for definitive tests is not available in rural areas, this test can prove very effective in picking up cancerous cervical lesions in initial stages. Importantly, its cost-effective when compared to the pap smear test. Cervical cancer accounts for 12% of all malignancies worldwide. Pap smear is the most popular screening tool. However, it requires a laboratory, a trained cytologist and a repeat visit for report and further evaluation. To overcome these shortcomings, a VIA on the cervix was reported as an alternative method. Application of 3-5% acetic acid causes dehydration of cells and surface coagulation of proteins in active cells. This gives a white appearance to whats called aceto-white areas which is abnormal and need further evaluation. According to Dr Harsha Khullar, co-author of the study and senior consultant, We found sensitivity of VIA and pap smear comparable. For VIA, sensitivity was 93.1%, and for pap smear it was 86.2%. timesofindia.indiatimes/city/delhi/One-minute-test-for-cervical-cancer-costs-only-Rs-2/articleshow/44807814.cms
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 06:50:35 +0000
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