Cervical cancer has affected millions of women globally. However, early detection of the disease can help save lives. Therefore, there are HPV vaccines that can reduce the number of death and women getting cervical cancer. Besides that, a new mobile kit is being introduced to the market to help fight against the fourth most common cancer in women.
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A doctor points at a screen with the tests of a patient suffering from cervical cancer during her first session of 3D high rate brachytherapy at the Bolivian Radiotherapy and Oncology Institute (IBRO) in El Alto, Bolivia on May 19, 2020.
ELEVATE has developed a mobile kit that is designed for communities with limited access to medical care, as reported by the European Commission. It works by health workers explaining the importance of cervical cancer screening and then offering the test to and giving women the results within the day.
ELEVATE's mobile kit is easy to use and requires little training. Women will need to collect a sample themselves and the health workers will run the sample through the battery-powered analysis unit.
It works by using DNA to check for the presence of high-risk HPV infections that can lead to cervical cancer. The results come out in minutes.
Also Read: HPV Vaccine Reduces Cervical Cancer Risk by 90 Percent, But Is It Recommended Now?
When Will the Device Roll Out
Researchers aim to start using the kit in mountain villages and deprived urban areas in Brazil and Ecuador. Furthermore, they want to use it with hard-to-reach women in Belgium and Portugal as well.
With their focus on rural areas, the researchers also found that those in cities and with careers are not going for screening because they were too busy. Therefore, the testing kit could also be useful in cities where women often lead busy lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) sets 2030 targets to reduce cervical cancer rates globally. One of the initiatives would be to have at least 70 percent of women screened with a high-performance test by 35 and by 45 years of age.
With the new ELEVATE portable kit, many are hopeful that it will help countries meet the WHO target. However, it still has to be tested in the field and assess for acceptability, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness for low-income countries.
HPV Vaccination
One of the most effective ways to fight cervical cancer is the HPV vaccine that is highly effective. However, it doesn't protect against all forms of high-risk HPV. Therefore, there is still a need to screen for cervical cancer.
The ELEVATE screening kit is a multi-functional device that makes cervical screening accessible and affordable. The researchers also want to make sure the mobile kit can reduce false positives. Therefore, they are working on improving the test and the kit itself. They also want to make it so that the kit can run more than one test at a time, with each test taking less than a minute.
Related Article: Immunotherapy may give hope to women with advanced cervical cancer
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Written by April Fowell
