New womb cancer test approved for UK use
Women with signs of womb cancer can be offered a less invasive test to rule out disease after it was given the green light for use in the UK.
The new test, WID-easy, uses some of the same technology used in Covid PCR tests.
Traditionally, women with signs of womb cancer would need a transvaginal ultrasound scan or a hysteroscopy – where a tube with a camera in it is used to look inside the womb – to confirm or rule out disease.
The new PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is a simple swab, which is sent off to a laboratory for analysis.
Scientists then look for changes in the DNA that indicate whether womb cancer is present or not.
If the test indicates that a woman has womb cancer, then the woman would need a biopsy to confirm or rule out the diagnosis.
The test, by University College London (UCL) spinout company Sola Diagnostics, has been approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for women over the age of 45 who have abnormal uterine bleeding.
This means that it is immediately available to private clinics, and it is hoped that it will one day be made available for widespread use on the NHS.
Analysis of the test, which was developed by researchers from UCL and the University of Innsbruck, was published in the Lancet Oncology in 2023.
The study found that the WID-easy test detects the same number of women with womb cancer as ultrasound.
'The… test delivers fast results and shows improved performance compared with a combination of imaging index tests,' the authors wrote at the time.
The test also significantly reduces the number of false positives, which could mean that fewer healthy women would be sent to have invasive hysteroscopy or biopsy procedures.
Inventor of the test, Professor Martin Widschwendter, from UCL's Institute for Women's Health and the University of Innsbruck in Austria, said: 'The WID-easy test is the first test of its kind in the UK – using a simple swab method to detect womb cancer.
'We are proud to have developed a test that addresses an urgent gap in women's health and performs well across all women.'
Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of The Eve Appeal, added: 'Currently in the UK, the tests to investigate abnormal bleeding and check for womb cancer can cause stress and discomfort. The usual test is a hysteroscopy, which many find painful and invasive.
'A test which is less painful and more acceptable is to be welcomed by many.
' One of the key groups who may benefit from this test are Black women who more often receive a late-stage diagnosis for this cancer.
'The Eve Appeal is delighted to see this progress in research that the charity funded, resulting in a test that may be effective in the clinical setting.
'The WID-easy test could enable the many thousands of women who experience abnormal bleeding, and where cancer needs to be ruled out, to potentially avoid painful tests like hysteroscopies and have their minds put at rest sooner, saving them from unnecessary stress.'
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