Pap Test to Detect Ovarian, Endometrial Cancers?

A new test for ovarian and endometrial cancers looks at cervical fluid obtained during a routine Pap test to detect genetic mutations linked with the cancers.

Although the research is in early stages, the test did well in detecting these cancers, says researcher Yuxuan Wang, a graduate student at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at the Johns Hopkins University's Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore.

If ongoing research bears out, the new test could someday become a routine screening test, much like the Pap test is for cervical cancer, she says.

"This would not add anything to the current [Pap] procedure," Wang says. "All we do is take part of the sample for DNA testing.''
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