A new liquid-based pap test for cervical cancer screening has been made available to women at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The ThinPrep pap test is more effective at finding early abnormalities than the traditional pap test, according to recent research.

KEMH conducted its own study by comparing a number of patients who used traditional pap tests set against the new ThinPrep test. The ThinPrep pap test was shown to be more accurate, said Dr. Kered James, director of Pathology at the hospital.

The ThinPrep pap test screens for cervical cancer and all the precursors of cervical cancer. The test uses liquid-based technology to tackle preparation and screening errors, which amounted to the majority of inaccuracies in older pap smear tests.

A woman who receives a ThinPrep pap test will not feel any difference in the procedure used to collect a cervical sample. There is a difference however in preserving the cells harvested and in testing them. Instead of spreading a mass of cells on a glass slide, under the new test, harvested cells are put into a vial of preservative solution, then a single cell is mounted on a glass slide, making it much easier to read under a microscope.

All of the sample is preserved with the ThinPrep test, whereas under the traditional test, almost 80 percent of the sample can be discarded. Under the new test, the fraction of the sample that does not make it to the slide is considered a ?non-representative sub-sample, meaning the clinician has no control over which cells make it to the slide and which do not.

The traditional test has been used for over 50 years and the ThinPrep test is the first major advance in looking at cells from a cervix.

Dr. James told ?The fact that we can now use this means that we can keep all samples from the woman and review historical material.?

A major advantage to the ThinPrep test is the preserved sample can be sent away for further analysis if minor abnormalities are found. At that point, tests for pre-cancerous polyps or the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) can be run; HPV has been found in some circumstances to be a link to cervical cancer.

ThinPrep gives a much more complete test, and is much clearer to read, said Dr. James, who also urged women to have a pap smear annually: ?Picking up an early abnormality is so much better than dealing with an advanced disease.?

The ThinPrep test is available now and women are encouraged to ask their gynaecologist about it. If your physician does not have the proper vial, they can obtain them from KEMH, said Dr. James.

The ThinPrep test has been available in Bermuda for about six weeks.

At present, the ThinPrep test costs the same as the traditional pap test, although this may change in the next financial year, added Dr. James.