Cervical Cancer Can Be Tested in One Hour: India has taken a big step towards making cervical cancer check cheaper, fast, and accessible. Noida -based National Cancer Prevention and Research Center (NICPR) has developed an indigenous HPV test kit, which can give results in just one hour.
The testing of this kit is almost complete, and next week its usefulness, results, and importance will be discussed with the Union Ministry of Health, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, and studies. If everything remains according to the plan, then this kit will soon be available in the market.
Learn the features of the kit
Currently, an HPV examination of cervical cancer costs from ₹ 1,500 to ₹ 3,000, and it takes 1-2 days to get the results. The new desi kit claims to reduce this cost, ie the price of the investigation can be up to ₹ 750-1,000.
In addition, this kit is a battery powered and portable, which can be taken to any place and examined. This facility will prove to be a boon for women, especially in rural, hill, and backward areas, where it is difficult to reach the lab.
NICPR Director Dr. Shalini Singh said, “There will be a meeting with officials and experts soon for the final discussion on this kit. This kit is not only cost effective, but also to give fast results.” There is a plan to include the kit in the National Cancer Control Program (NCCP), so that it can be transported to every corner of the country.
This kit is designed to detect HPV (Human Papillomavirus), which is a major cause of cervical cancer. The kit has been tested at AIIMS Delhi, NICPR Noida, and ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (NIRRC) Mumbai.
Dr. Neerja Bhatla, former head of the maternity and gynecology department of AIIMS and Chief Coordinator of this project, said that the kit has been validated according to the International Quality Standards (WHO Precharification).
In the test, samples were taken from the IARC (International Cancer Research Agency) of IARC (WHO), which has already proved to be clinical validity. This reduced the time of study to the fifth. The kit gives results in 1–1.5 hours, which is faster than the current lab-based test. It is suitable for point-of-care testing, ie technical expertise or complex lab setup will not be required.
