Pap Smear DNA Analysis May Find More Cancers, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Study

New versions of the Pap smear that analyze cells in the cervix for cancer may also identify malignancies of the ovaries and endometrium, a finding that could broaden the preventive benefits of the test. In the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers found genes of cancer mutations in samples of cervical cells and secretions from Pap smears they tested. The DNA tests accurately detected all endometrial cancers and 41 percent of ovarian cancers.