Warning over online DIY cervical cancer tests

Published on Sunday 14 March 2010 21:53

CERVICAL cancer experts have warned young women against buying DIY smear tests over the internet.

Dr Anne Szarewski, a clinical consultant at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, spoke out as online pharmacy DrThom launched the kits.

She said they could lead to women under the age of 30 being told they have the sexually-transmitted infection that causes cervical cancer when it would actually clear up on its own.

The new test detects changes in genetic material in cells affected by human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer.

The 115 service is being aimed at busy career women, those who find going for smear tests embarrassing or younger people who fall outside the current age group for screening on the NHS.

Women in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get NHS screening from the age of 20 but those in England are only eligible from the age of 25.

Screening ages have been the subject of debate after reality TV star Jade Goody died last year from cervical cancer, aged 27.

Dr Szarewski said: "In young people, everyone is going to test positive. The rate of HPV is high but it's transient... it comes and goes."

She said women whose results suggested something was wrong could be left feeling anxious.

"Women will be paranoid and they will not be eligible for an NHS colonoscopy. So, they are going to be paying a few hundred pounds more for a colonoscopy privately, which is unnecessary. For women under 30 I don't think there's a call for HPV testing. It's going to create worry among women."

Professor Peter Sasieni, a Cancer Research UK epidemiologist, said while the charity supported making smear tests more accessible, it could not support the DIY test as there is a lack of published data on how effective this would be.

"Also, HPV infection in young women is extremely common and mostly harmless. It is not clear what proportion of women under 25 would test positive but it could exceed 15 per cent," he said.

The one-hour DIY test can be carried out in a woman's own home, with results usually coming back within three weeks.

It involves inserting a special tampon and wearing it for one hour to enable a "smear" of cells from the cervix to be obtained. The test is then placed inside a secure envelope and posted to a laboratory. Results are uploaded to a secure online patient record – created by the woman when she registers for the service.

Following the results, a woman can ask doctors for advice and guidance online or, for an extra 15, can have a telephone consultation with a GP.

According to DrThom, the test is less likely than a traditional smear test to give a "false positive" result.

More than 2,800 women a year in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 1,000 die from it every year.

Another 24,000 women receive smear test results each year showing severely abnormal changes to the cells of their cervix, indicating the likelihood of cancer unless treatment is given.