India's first at-home cervical cancer screening test coming soon

In the upcoming weeks, India will receive the first at-home self-test kit for women to screen for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the major cause of cervical cancer.


The at-home vaginal swab test will cost Rs. 2,500 per test and is being offered by LifeCell, a renowned stem cell and tissues storage bank provider that also offers genetic screening tests and cell and tissue-based medicines.



According to Mayur Abhaya, the company's managing director, the test includes a self-collection kit box that is secure, discrete, simple to use, and handy, and the sample may be collected from the comfort of one's own home.


Importantly, it includes 24 high-risk HPV infections, including HPV 16 and 18, which cause more than half of all cervical cancer cases.Women are currently encouraged to get a pap test, which is often provided by gynaecologists, in order to be screened for cervical cancer.


The Union Health Ministry's Department of Health Research has issued a Health Technology Assessment for early identification of cervical cancer, emphasising that screening reduces the prevalence of cervical cancer cases while decreasing cancer mortality.


When a customer takes the sample, they must place it in a discrete polybag and schedule a pick-up, while the results may be seen online afterward.


Cervical cancer is the second most frequent disease among women in India, after breast cancer, despite the fact that it is mostly avoidable with vaccination.


According to Globocan 2020, around 6,04,100 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed globally in 2020, with 3,41,831 fatalities related to this malignancy, In 2020, cervical cancer accounted for 9.4% of all cancers and 18.3% (1,23,907) of new cases in India.


According to experts, it remains one of the most frequent malignancies in India and the primary cause of cancer-related deaths in women in low- and middle-income nations.


In the country, the incidence of cervical cancer begins to climb around the age of 45 and peaks at the age of 55.


The government also intends to incorporate the HPV vaccine into the Universal Immunization Program for females aged 9 to 14. Some international vaccine producers' HPV vaccinations are now solely accessible in the private market in India, with extremely limited population penetration.

FAQs

Q1 What is the full form of HPV?
Human Papillomavirus.


Q2 What are the major causes of Cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer develops as a result of a long-term infection with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV).