How can we transform cervical cancer screening for the better?

Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Malcolm Gillis university professor, professor of bioengineering and co-director of Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, says it could only take an hour.

Rebecca Richards-Kortum is a biomedical engineer guided by the belief that all people deserve access to lifesaving technologies. She is known for improving access to lifesaving health technologies that address cancer, premature birth, sickle cell disease, and malaria. Technologies from her lab have been deployed to over 45 countries, providing a lifesaving impact to millions. Her lab’s current research includes developing systems for improving tumor removal accuracy, slide-free pathology, AI-assisted microendoscopy for early cancer detection, and HPV DNA nucleic acid test for cervical cancer screening.Richards-Kortum is the Rice University Malcolm Gillis University Professor of Bioengineering, Co-Director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, and Co-Chair of NEST360. Richards-Kortum was recognized as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow for her research in developing point-of-care devices for low-resource settings. She is one of five eminent U.S. scientists selected to serve the U.S. Department of State as a U.S. Science Envoy for Health Security. In 2023, Richards-Kortum was awarded the IEEE Medal for Innovations in Healthcare Technology.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable diseases in the world, yet it still claims more than 350,000 women’s lives every year. Most of those deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where access to regular screening is limited.We wanted to change that. Our team, which includes researchers from Rice University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and partners in Mozambique, set out to develop a simple, affordable test for human papillomavirus, or HPV, the virus responsible for nearly all cases of cervical cancer.What we created is a one-hour, low-cost HPV test that doesn’t require a specialized laboratory. That means women can be screened and treated during the same clinic visit—something global health experts say could save countless lives.Here’s how it works. The test uses a method called loop-mediated isothermal amplification, or LAMP, to detect HPV DNA. It runs at a single temperature and doesn’t need the complicated DNA extraction step most other tests require. A swab sample is added to the test solution, incubated for about 45 minutes in a portable heater, and then read by fluorescence.Our test detects three of the most dangerous HPV types—16, 18, and 45—which together cause about 75% of all cervical cancers. It costs less than $8 per test and can run on a battery-powered device, making it ideal for clinics without reliable electricity.In clinical trials, the test matched lab results 100% of the time in Houston and 93% in Mozambique.We’re now working to expand the test to cover more HPV types and to make it even easier to use in the field. Our goal is simple: a complete, field-ready kit that helps every woman, everywhere, access fast, accurate screening—and moves us closer to eliminating cervical cancer for good.

Read More:[Rice] - New one-hour, low-cost HPV test could transform cervical cancer screening in Africa and beyond

[Nature] - One-hour extraction-free loop-mediated isothermal amplification HPV DNA assay for point-of-care testing in Maputo, Mozambique

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Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University - New HPV Test Could Transform Cervical Cancer Screening

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Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University - New HPV Test Could Transform Cervical Cancer Screening