05 Aug Cervical Cancer Prevention: New Test May Better Target Women Who Need Treatment
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Lorincz
Emeritus Professor Attila Lorincz, PhD
Centre for Cancer Prevention
Queen Mary University of London
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The vast majority of women with cervical lesions are not at risk for cancer, however, because there is no way to accurately identify the very small proportion of women at risk of cervical cancer a recommendation for treatment is commonly given by doctors. Surgery on women with cervical lesions is risky for future pregnancies and can cause harm to the baby. Occasionally there are also problems in physical recovery and the mental well-being of the treated women.
We wanted to see if the S5 DNA methylation test could identify the women who need treatment. We ran a two-year follow-up study on 149 young women with moderate dysplasia in Finland. Our results showed that the S5 test was by far the best method to reveal which women needed treatment.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: There is great potential to use DNA methylation testing to more accurately target women who need surgery to prevent cervical cancer. In using the S5 test most women can be spared surgery, which will reduce medical costs and also lead to better outcomes for the women and their children. The new test has the potential to save women from millions of surgeries across the globe.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: We need to do large studies in different countries to show that the results are robust, which will then pave the way for the routine introduction of DNA methylation testing.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: The S5 DNA methylation test is not available for routine use currently, however, I am providing advice on development of a commercial version of the test to be suitable for women in the next few years.
Citation:Karolina Louvanto, Karoliina Aro, Belinda Nedjai, Ralf Bützow, Maija Jakobsson, Ilkka Kalliala, Joakim Dillner, Pekka Nieminen, Attila Lorincz. Methylation in predicting progression of untreated high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz677
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Last Updated on August 5, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD