Combined Cervical Cancer Screening Studied

A U.S. study finds screening women for cervical cancer and providing preventive treatment during the same visit is feasible in developing nations.

Dr. Paul Blumenthal of the Stanford University School of Medicine said if the technique initiated in Ghana can be scaled up effectively, it could help prevent one of the leading causes of cancer death in women in developing nations.

In developed countries such as the United States, women receive a regular Pap smear to detect early signs of cervical cancer. Those with abnormalities are called back for treatment. But that approach requires a degree of infrastructure not often available in developing countries.

In the technique used in the study, a doctor or nurse applies acetic acid to a woman’s cervix. Precancerous areas stand out as white regions against the pink, normal cervical tissue. The doctor or nurse can then freeze the white regions, effectively eliminating the abnormality and preventing future cancer.

That single-visit procedure requires less infrastructure than other methods of detecting cervical cancer.

Blumenthal, an acting professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is the lead author of the study appearing in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.