SCREEN TIME

A new self-test for cervical cancer may be a game changer in the fight against the deadly disease.

- NICKY PELLEGRINO

On September 12, the cervical cancer screening programme is set to change. Out will go the old pap smear test, to be replaced with a newer test that checks for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes almost all cervical cancers.

This change has been in the works for a while - in fact, it was intended to have happened by now - but the process has been complex and costly. The silver lining is that the wait has provided a chance to review the experience in other countries, such as the UK and Australia, and design a system to work best here.

"Our programme in New Zealand will be one of the first in the world to be predominantly a self-test," says Dr Jane O'Hallahan, clinical director of the National Screening Unit. "It's a simple swab that you put into the vagina; it doesn't need to go as high as the cervix, and we've had very good research groups that have shown women are able and confident to do it themselves. It's a very sensitive test. If there is the precursor for precancers, the swab will find it."

At least for now, women will be doing this self-test at a clinic - a GP surgery, Māori or Pacific health service or Family Planning. They can ask for assistance from a doctor or nurse if required. And those who want to stick with the old pap smear will still have that option, although the difference is the sample will be tested first for HPV rather than precancerous cells.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and, when treated early, curable forms of cancer but still about 160 women in New Zealand develop it each year and 50 die. Globally it is the fourth-most common cancer in women.