A simple DNA-based test can help to identify more easily those women who have an increased chance of developing cervical cancer following an abnormal smear test result, researchers have reported.
The Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) method, developed in Belgium, is DNA-based method that tests for DNA from those strains of the virus that are higher risk for cervical cancer.
In a Cochrane systemic review, the authors compared the HC2 test with a repeat conventional smear test as a way of prioritising possible cases that have cervical pre-cancer.
They reviewed 39 studies involving a total of 13,196 women and found that compared to a repeat smear, the HC2 test more accurately identified women with pre-cancer.
However, the method work better only when the cells examined from the smear are not clearly normal or abnormal (referred to as ASCUS). The results were not clear cut in other types of cells that are identified are only mildly abnormal (LSIL).
“Based on these findings, the HC2 test can be recommended as a way of triaging women with an ASCUS smear,” said lead researcher Marc Arbyn, of the Unit of Cancer Epidemiology at the Scientific Institute of Public Health in Brussels, Belgium.
However, it was not accurate in determining the risk of pre-cancer in women with LSIL abnormalities.
“The use of the HC2 test in women with LSIL abnormalities in their smear test results should be carefully considered,” said Arbyn. “It may be more accurate in older women with these abnormalities, but it is important to take into account the local cost of further, more invasive tests and to avoid unnecessary referrals and anxiety.”
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