Marla Ahlgrimm: New Detection Method for Cervical Cancer

Marla Ahlgrimm

Cervical cancer affects millions women each year. Unfortunately, testing can be expensive and isn’t 100% accurate. However, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, researchers at Queen Mary University of London have recently identified a new testing method. It is believed that this method, which is less expensive and easier to perform, has a 100% detection rate.

Queen Mary University of London researcher Prof. Attila Lorincz, who is known for helping develop the first HPV test back in 1988, led the study, which involved more than 15,000 reproductive-aged women in Canada. The study looked at the way epigenetics, naturally occurring changes within a cell, are affected by cancer as opposed to DNA mutations, says Marla Ahlgrimm.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that the current accepted model of testing for cervical cancer is done during a Pap smear. This procedure involves a medical professional scraping the cervix and looking at tissue under a microscope. Unfortunately, this type of testing, while still valuable, is only effective at identifying potentially cancerous cervical cells around 50% of the time. A more comprehensive test is available to identify whether women are actually carrying the HPV virus. Despite its accuracy, this only identifies whether the virus cells are present and does not actually predict whether or not a woman will develop cancer. Marla Ahlgrimm laments that this knowledge can actually invite unnecessary fear in women, as up to 75% of sexually mature persons carry the HPV virus with no ill effects.

The new testing method, which continues to receive attention from the medical community, detected eight invasive cervical cancer cases that developed throughout the course of the trial. The tests also helped to identify nine out of 10 cases of precancerous lesions, which was more effective than all forms of testing, even when performed together.

Marla Ahlgrimm is excited to see what the future of cervical cancer research holds and hopes that medical advances continue to reduce unnecessary disease.