Cervical cancer testing tech could replace pap smears, save lives

 WASHINGTON, March 30, 2021 -- Emerging technologies can screen for cervical cancer better than Pap smears and, if widely used, could save lives both in developing nations and parts of nations, just like the us, where access to health care could also be limited.

In Biophysics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital write advances in nanotechnology and computer learning are among the technologies helping develop HPV screening that takes the guesswork out of the precancer tests. that would mean better screening in places that lack highly trained doctors and advanced laboratories.

Cervical cancer is that the world's fourth commonest cancer, with quite 500,000 cases diagnosed per annum. most cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV or human papillomavirus. Detecting precancer changes within the body allows doctors to cure what could otherwise become deadly cancer.

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Pap smears, which were introduced within the 1940s, are subjective and not always reliable. The tests, which may detect about 80% of developing cervical cancer if given regularly, require high-quality laboratories, properly trained clinical doctors, and repeated screenings. These test conditions aren't widely available in many countries or maybe in low-income and remote parts of wealthier nations.

"The cervical smear has done wonders in terms of reducing mortality from cancer that's very treatable when caught early and almost invariably fatal when it's caught late," said author Cesar Castro, an oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard school of medicine. "And it's not even an excellent test. a part of its imperfection is that there's a subjectivity thereto. The trained eye is that the limiting step within the process. The untrained eye, or relatively untrained eye, can miss cancers."

The subjectivity of the test has led to a way higher death rate from cervical cancer in lower-income countries. The authors highlight an inventory of existing and emerging technologies that will be wont to close the testing gap in those areas. they vary from existing DNA testing and other cervical smear alternatives to next-generation technologies that use recent advances in nanotechnology and AI.

One technique involves screening with tiny beads made from biological material that form a diamond shape once they contact HPV. Those shapes are often detected with powerful microscopes. When those microscopes aren't available, a mobile app, built through machine learning, is often wont to read them.

"Similar to COVID-19 testing, we've great technology in places just like us that doesn't work tolerably in other countries," said author Hyungsoon I'm, a biomedical engineer at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard school of medicine. "This is why there's great motivation to seek out next-generation, affordable technology to deal with this problem."

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