A New Test Could Make It Easier to Detect One of the Most Common Cancers in Women

For women experiencing abnormal vaginal bleeding, ruling out endometrial cancer is critical. Doctors have long relied primarily on transvaginal ultrasounds to examine the thickness of the uterine lining for abnormalities, as well as on endometrial tissue biopsies to determine whether cancer or precancerous changes are present.

But both procedures can be uncomfortable and even painful, and endometrial biopsies do not always yield adequate tissue samples — including about 30 percent of the time in postmenopausal women. In some cases, the uterine lining is too thin. In others, clinicians can have difficulty passing instruments through a narrow cervix.

A much less invasive test may be on the horizon.

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