A pioneering test of period blood for signs of cervical cancer could be a convenient, non-invasive and accurate way of screening for the disease, researchers have said.
A regular sanitary pad topped with a blood sample strip can pick up human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer, and could be used by women at home, the results of a study indicate.
Currently, most women undergo cervical screening under the care of a clinician, who collects a sample via a brush inserted into the vagina. But millions of women invited for screening do not attend.
Researchers in China compared the diagnostic accuracy of menstrual blood with samples collected by a clinician for detecting cervical cell abnormalities (CIN2 and CIN3), which can require treatment.
Their findings, published in the BMJ medical journal, were based on 3,068 women, aged between 20 and 54 with regular menstrual cycles, who were enrolled in Hubei, China, between 2021 and 2025.
Each provided three samples for testing: a menstrual blood sample collected using a sanitary pad and strip, a cervical sample collected by a clinician, and an extra sample collected by a health worker for processing in a lab.
Researchers assessed the sensitivity of the test, which indicates how well it picks up people who have a disease, as well as the specificity, which picks up those without the disease.
The samples collected from pads showed a sensitivity of 94.7% for detecting CIN2, which was comparable to clinician-collected samples (92.1%).
While the pad performed less well on specificity, the probability that a person with a negative test result truly did not have the disease was identical for both collection methods. Referrals for further tests were also comparable.
“The results of this large-scale, community-based study show the utility of using minipad-collected menstrual blood for HPV testing as a standardised, non-invasive alternative or replacement for cervical cancer screening,” the study authors said.
Sophie Brooks, the health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said it was encouraging to see research exploring new ways to make cervical screening more accessible. “Testing menstrual blood for HPV is an interesting, non-invasive approach, and could potentially offer another option in the future.”
But it was early days, she added, and trials involving larger and more diverse groups would be required to understand how well it worked for different people, and whether it could fit into existing screening pathways.
Xavier Bosch, an emeritus researcher at the Catalan Institute of Oncology, who was not involved with the study, said the work was “very pioneering” but still in the research phase. “At the moment, its clinical applications are unclear.”
Athena Lamnisos, the chief executive of the Eve Appeal, a gynaecological cancer charity, welcomed the findings. “It’s exciting to see new, more acceptable and potentially gentler ways of offering what could be a life-saving test to prevent cervical cancer from developing.”
However, she said, the ability to test for HPV in period blood would not work for everyone, including, for instance, women who were menopausal.
“People have different barriers and concerns about screening, so being able to offer a choice of different methods could be very positive for some who are eligible for screening but don’t currently attend,” she said.
