Women will find out if they are at risk of womb cancer – or not – within days, rather than weeks, thanks to a new service at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).
The Trust is the first in the East of England to launch the WID-easy test.
It’s a safe, quick and accurate way to detect womb cancer risk in women experiencing bleeding after menopause.
Womb (endometrial) cancer is the most common form of gynaecological cancer. Any delays in diagnosis are also linked to higher death rates when compared to ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, stomach, testicular and thyroid cancers.
ESNEFT receives around 250 suspected cancer referrals every month to investigate symptoms associated with post-menopausal bleeding.
Consultant gynae-oncologist Dr Wendy MacNab is the Trust’s clinical director for gynaecology.
She said: “Nationally, 300,000 women will experience post-menopausal bleeding, but only three out of 100 (3%) of those women will be diagnosed with womb cancer.
“That means many of them go through unnecessary, invasive procedures for us to be able to share that there’s nothing wrong. No one wants to spend time waiting to find out if they might have cancer, or not – and if they do, the time to diagnosis is critical.”
The new test will quickly assess whether a woman has a high or low risk of womb cancer. The current, standard method of assessment is a transvaginal ultrasound scan (TVUS).
Around one in four women can receive “false positive” results following a TVUS. This means they then undergo unnecessary, invasive procedures, such as hysteroscopy and curettage.
Dr MacNab, pictured above, said: “The WID-easy test may help us to reduce unnecessary procedures by 90%, while detecting the same number of cancers as TVUS.
“It will improve patient experience and outcomes hugely. It’s a less invasive approach, the results are rapid and the time to diagnosis will be shorter.”
The East of England Cancer Alliance has secured funding for two trusts to be pilot sites for the WID-easy test, ESNEFT is one of them.
The service is running at both Colchester and Ipswich hospitals.
How the test works
The test process involves taking a swab from the vagina and behind the cervix. The sample is sent to an NHS laboratory for rapid testing using a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique (like a COVID-19 test). Results are processed within a few days.
If a negative result is received and no cancer DNA is found, there is a very low risk of a woman developing cancer. If they have other risk factors, they may be discharged back to their GP who will advise on next steps, or they will be invited to a follow-up clinic.
If the result is positive and cancer DNA cells are found, a woman will be at high risk of having cancer. The hospital team will contact them to arrange further tests, including a hysteroscopy and biopsy.
Dr MacNab added: “Only 6% of patients will need a hysteroscopy and biopsy. Others will get a negative result from their swab and find out that they are not at risk of cancer sooner.
“This approach will make sure women with a positive result receive timely, further investigations, while those who test negative are safely cared for through non-urgent routes.
“There are many benefits for our teams, too. We will be able to see more patients quicker, fewer samples will be going to the lab and our hope, in time, is that it will be a nurse-led clinic, which will free up doctor time to care for patients with the greatest clinical need.”
Gynaecology team colleagues at Colchester Hospital
Gynaecology team colleagues at Ipswich Hospital