New detection tool pinpoints virus behind cervical cancer
Nahariya, Israel
The Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya is the first hospital in Israel to implement a new method of detecting the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.
Dr. Yaakov Borenstein, who runs the hospital's women's health unit, described the HPV test Tuesday at a gynecologists' conference at the Dan Carmel Hotel in Haifa.
The test, which characterizes the virus' genetic material - the most precise way to test for the virus - is 97 percent accurate, compared to just 50 percent for the more familiar Pap smears. The method also allows far earlier detection, because it diagnoses the presence of the virus instead of looking for pre-cancerous changes, as do Pap smears.
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Cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer - after breast cancer - affecting women around the world, said Borenstein. HPV has been shown over recent years to be closely related to cervical cancer and pre-cancerous states.
The Israel Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that women between the ages of 25 and 60 be tested every three years.
Labels: DNA Test, HPV DNA Test
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