London: Urine testing may be as effective as the smear test at preventing cervical cancer and could significantly increase participation rates for screening, a study has found. The research, published in the journal BMJ Open, found that urine testing was just as good as the cervical smear at picking up high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer.

Researchers from the University of Manchester in the UK said a urine test could help increase the numbers of women who are screened for cervical cancer. Urine testing could have a role in the developing world, where cervical cancer is up to 15 times more common and smear testing largely non-existent. Around one in 20 women show abnormal changes which might go on to become cancer and are referred for colposcopy, where the cervix is examined under magnification, allowing abnormal areas to be seen, sampled and treated, before they ever cause cancer, researchers said.