MUMBAI— A simple vinegar test slashed cervical cancer death rates by one-third in a remarkable study of 150,000 women in the slums of India, where the disease is the top cancer killer of women.
Doctors reported the results Sunday at a cancer conference in Chicago. Researchers were amazed by the outcome and said this quick, cheap test could save tens of thousands of lives each year in developing countries by spotting early signs of cancer.
Pap smears and tests for HPV, a virus that causes most cervical cancers, have slashed cases and deaths in the United States. Poor countries cannot afford such screening tools.
This study tried a test that costs very little and can be done by local people with just two weeks of training and no expensive or complex lab equipment. They swab the cervix with diluted vinegar, which can make abnormal cells briefly change color.
This low-tech visual exam cut the cervical cancer death rate by 31 percent, the study found. It could prevent 22,000 deaths in India and 72,600 worldwide each year, researchers estimate.
‘‘That’s remarkable. It’s a very exciting result,’’ said Dr. Ted Trimble of the National Cancer Institute in the United States, a study sponsor.
The story of research participant Usha Devi is not unusual. Despite having given birth to four children, she had never had a gynecological exam. She had been bleeding heavily for several years, hoping patience and prayers would fix things.
‘‘Everyone said it would go away, and every time I thought about going to the doctor there was either no money or something else would come up,’’ she said.
One day she found a card from health workers trying to persuade women to join the study. Devi is in her late 40s and like many poor Indians does not know her date of birth. She learned she had advanced cervical cancer. The study paid for surgery to remove her uterus and cervix.
The study effort was led by Surendra Shastri of Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.