Testing period blood for cervical cancer ‘could be new screening method’
Testing period blood for signs of cervical cancer could be a new, accurate way of screening for the disease, researchers say.
A regular sanitary pad topped with a blood sample strip can pick up human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer, and could be used by women at home, according to a study.
At present, most women undergo cervical screening under the care of a medic, who collects a sample via a small brush inserted into the vagina.
Some women are also using home testing kits though these are not routinely given out to everyone in the UK.
In the new study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), researchers in China compared the diagnostic accuracy of menstrual blood versus samples collected by a clinician for detecting cervical cell abnormalities (CIN2 and CIN3), which can require treatment.
Their findings are based on 3,068 women in an area of China aged 20 to 54 with regular menstrual cycles, enrolled between 2021 and 2025.
Each woman provided three samples for testing: a menstrual blood sample collected using a sanitary pad and strip, a cervical sample collected by a clinician, and an additional sample collected by a health worker for processing in the lab.
Researchers assessed the sensitivity of the test, which indicates how well it picks up people who have a disease, as well as specificity, which picks up people without the disease.
The pad collected samples showed a sensitivity of 94.7% for detecting CIN2 which was comparable to clinician collected samples (92.1%).
While the pad performed less well on specificity, the probability that a person with a negative test result truly did not have the disease was also identical for both collection methods.
Referrals for further tests were also comparable.
The authors concluded: “The results of this large scale community-based study show the utility of using minipad collected menstrual blood for HPV testing as a standardised, non-invasive alternative or replacement for cervical cancer screening.”
They added: “The findings of this study support the integration of menstrual blood-based HPV testing into national cervical cancer screening guidelines.”
Sophie Brooks, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s encouraging to see research exploring new ways to make cervical screening more accessible.
“Testing menstrual blood for HPV is an interesting, non-invasive approach, and could potentially offer another option in the future.
“But it’s still very early days, and we need more research with larger and more diverse groups to understand how well it works for different people, and whether it could fit into existing screening pathways.
“Cervical screening saves lives by helping to prevent cervical cancer from developing in the first place. Cancer Research UK encourages people to read their invite carefully and consider taking part.”
Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of the Eve Appeal, welcomed the study and said existing cervical screening “can be difficult for some women for many reasons, like if they have had a bad previous experience, they are menopausal, they have a physical or learning disability, cultural barriers, or are a survivor of sexual violence”.
She added: “It’s exciting to see new, more acceptable and potentially gentler ways of offering what could be a life-saving test to prevent cervical cancer from developing.
“The ability to test for HPV in menstrual blood isn’t the answer for everyone though – people are eligible for screening until 64 and many will be menopausal.
“People have different barriers and concerns about screening, so being able to offer a choice of different methods could be very positive for some who are eligible for screening but don’t currently attend.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub