[Natalie Allen, Cnn Anchor:] Researchers with the National Cancer Institute say a new genetic test could send a red flag to doctors that a patient may be at risk for cervical cancer. CNN medical correspondent Eileen O'Connor looks at the test and how it could help patients make better health care decisions.
[Eileen O'connor, Cnn Medical Correspondent:] A genetic test for a virus that has shown a strong link to cervical cancer is a valid tool for women and their doctors, according to a new study by the National Institutes of Health. The test was developed by sequencing the DNA of the human papilloma virus, a virus that is present in over 99 percent of all cervical cancers. Once a woman has an abnormal Pap smear, her doctor can now screen for HPV using this test.
[Dr. Diane Mcgrory, Dedham Medical Associates:] The Pap smear looked for abnormal cells. This test actually looks for the virus.
[O'connor:] Dr. Diane McGrory says not only will the test tell whether HPV is present, but whether it is a strain that is more or less likely to cause cancer, giving the patient and her doctor more information to go on.
[Unidentified Male:] ... indicated by high-risk positive or negative.
[Mcgrory:] I find it really relieves anxiety if they find out they're negative for the high-risk virus. And if they're positive for the high-risk virus, it gives them an understanding about what's wrong with them, and then they get treatment.
[Barbara Mcguire-broderick:] Bye, Chris. Have a good weekend.
[O'connor:] Barbara McGuire-Broderick, a school principal, knows the agony of waiting, something she's had to do several times after an abnormal Pap smear.
[Mcguire-broderick:] Here at work people notice that there's that anxiety level that really goes up the more days that you have to wait and wonder. That will be happening next week.
[O'connor:] She says she hopes the results of this new study mean more women will have this test.
[Mcguire-broderick:] I have more information to work with my physician so that she can help me make better decisions about my health care.
[O'connor:] Still, doctors say the most important aspect of screening for cervical cancer is that women have to come in and have a Pap smear test done in the first place. Not everyone does. And of those who do, only 50 percent have them often enough. Eileen O'Connor, CNN, Washington.