New endometrial cancer screening test that can be done at home

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common among women. It affects more than 400,000 women a year worldwide. Currently, diagnostic methods are very invasive and painful, mostly through biopsies of the endometrium. A delay in diagnosis requires the use of more aggressive treatments and significantly decreases patient survival.

Scientists from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) in Hospitalet de Llobregat, the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the University of Innsbruck in Austria, have designed and tested a new non-invasive, self-sampling system that could advance a year the diagnosis of endometrial cancer.

The new method consists of an epigenetic test that measures the methylation level of two specific genes in cervical cytology samples. Methylations are DNA modifications that enable gene expression to be activated or deactivated. Samples can be obtained through light swabs of the cervix in the office, or through a small tampon-like device that the patient can use at home.

The results of the tests of the new method, published in the academic journal Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that, depending on the system used to obtain the sample, this new strategy detects between 90 and 100% of cases of endometrial cancer .

According to Dr. Laura Costas, project leader and principal investigator of the infections and cancer group at IDIBELL and the Catalan Institute of Oncology, it would be feasible to use this method to diagnose endometrial cancer in populations at risk.

“This test has worked well both in the samples taken by the medical staff in consultation and in vaginal self-samples taken by the patient at home”, -says Dr. Costas. “With this new system, the pressure of care and the need for an initial referral to a specialist can be reduced, thus contributing to a faster diagnosis.”

Members of the research team. (Photo: IDIBELL)

This has been a multidisciplinary study in which very diverse cohorts have been included to evaluate in depth the potential of the new methodology.

The strategy can be very beneficial in two risk groups: postmenopausal women with gynecological bleeding, the main symptom of endometrial cancer; and women with Lynch syndrome, an inherited genetic condition that predisposes them to developing cancer. The researchers propose carrying out cost-effectiveness studies and analyzing large cohorts of these risk groups for endometrial cancer before implementing this new diagnostic method.

On the other hand, the study has shown very encouraging results on the usefulness of this method in the general population, not at risk, since it has also made it possible to identify this cancer one year before its diagnosis. Looking ahead, trials are underway to evaluate similar tests for the diagnosis of other gynecologic cancers.

The study has also had the participation of the Department of Pathology and Gynecology of the Bellvitge University Hospital. (Source: IDIBELL)