We’ve awarded £457,000 to support a pioneering study in Cambridge that could play a pivotal role in reducing inequalities in the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer.    

Researchers at Cambridge University have created a more comfortable method of collecting potentially harmful cells from the cervix. They hope this could encourage more people to attend their cervical screening appointments. 

Changing to a disc

Around 3 in 10 people in England are currently overdue for their cervical screening appointments. In a survey, we found that experiencing pain previously and anticipation of pain were some of the top barriers putting people off taking part in cervical screening. 

Professor Doorbar, who’s leading the Cervical Cell Lifts Study, wants to improve the process. He’s designed a method that involves lifting the top few layers of cells from the cervix onto a small disc (a 2.5 cm piece of absorbent paper).

The disc technique helps minimise discomfort and reduces the risk of infection, which could encourage more people to participate in screening — especially people who have previously avoided appointments due to pain.

Rutendo Nyagumbo, Clinical Trials Practitioner for the Cervical Cell Lifts Study, said: “During a previous iteration of the study comparing the standard cervical screening process to this new method, some patients reported that scraping cells off the cervix, as done currently, could be a little bit uncomfortable, whereas we found that a lot of people could not feel the disc being applied to the cervix unless we told them it had been applied. The majority of patients also reported this new method as better and less painful in comparison to conventional cervical screening.”

The future of cervical screening 

People also reported feeling embarrassed and work commitments as major barriers to taking part in screening. Self-sampling kits, which can be used privately, could help lower these barriers and encourage more people to attend their screening. The recent announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care to introduce self-sampling kits for people who are six months or more overdue for cervical screening is an important step forward to help prevent more cases of cervical cancer.   

Cervical screening appointments in the future could look different with more methods becoming available to suit individual concerns and needs. The disc technique, along with helping minimise discomfort, could also be more accurate in collecting cervical cells. The technique allows clinicians to collect cells in their natural state and would help examiners visualise abnormal cells more easily. 

Researchers are trialling the disc over the next two years at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and have already detected abnormal cells in 500 people. If the research is successful, the test could be rolled out across GP surgeries when initial samples are taken during cervical screening.   

Professor Doorbar added: “This is a promising step toward a future where cervical cancer is not only preventable but also detected and treated earlier and more comfortably. This approach allows us to examine cervical cells in their natural organisation, which may improve our ability to detect high-risk and low-risk precursor lesions. It could significantly enhance how we triage abnormal results from HPV testing and collecting cells in a liquid preservative.”