A new test to identify cells collected from urine and vaginal fluid could help rule out womb and other cancers in most women who experience bleeding after the menopause.
The research, jointly conducted by the University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, was published in Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women's Health on 22 September.
Postmenopausal bleeding triggers an urgent cancer referral, yet only 5–10% of women investigated turn out to have cancer.
Current tests are invasive and costly: they include an internal ultrasound scan, a biopsy of the womb lining and hysteroscopy.
The DETECT study involved 1,864 women across seven hospitals in north-west England. Each participant gave urine and vaginal fluid samples before their routine clinical checks.
Researchers said the test could be used to triage women for rapid diagnosis while quickly reassuring those unlikely to have cancer. It also detected 95.8% of high-grade tumours and all cancers in black women.
Lead researcher Professor Emma Davidson said bleeding after the menopause is "understandably alarming for women because it can be a sign of cancer". She added that most of those investigated do not have the disease.
Womb cancer affects nearly 10,000 women in the UK each year.
