Doctors at the University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS foundation trust have created a screening test designed to help identify womb cancer in women experiencing bleeding after menopause. The test analyzes cells collected from urine and vaginal fluid samples, offering a non-invasive alternative to current diagnostic methods.
Postmenopausal bleeding typically triggers urgent cancer referrals, though only about 5% to 10% of women reporting such bleeding actually have underlying cancer. Existing diagnostic approaches—internal ultrasound scans, biopsies of the womb lining, and hysteroscopy procedures involving insertion of a camera into the womb—are invasive, uncomfortable, and expensive for healthcare systems. Hundreds of thousands of women worldwide receive womb cancer diagnoses annually.
Researchers evaluated the new test in a study involving 1,864 women at seven hospitals in north-west England who provided both urine and vaginal fluid samples prior to standard testing. Among study participants, 5% (99 of 1,864 women) received womb cancer diagnoses through biopsy or surgery. The new test identified 80 of the 99 cancers and returned negative results for 93% of women without womb cancer. Results were published in the journal Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health.
Researchers emphasized the test cannot definitively rule out cancer independently but could prioritize high-risk women for urgent investigation while allowing lower-risk patients to avoid immediate invasive procedures. They noted that samples in the study were evaluated by highly trained specialist cytologists, raising questions about whether equivalent accuracy could be achieved in routine clinical settings. The test had not been studied in asymptomatic women.
Prof Emma Davidson stated the approach could “transform care for thousands of women every year” by identifying those most likely to have cancer while providing early reassurance to others, pending confirmation through further studies in routine practice.
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