A new study proved that vinegar can effectively detect cervical cancer on women.
The details of the study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago held last Sunday. Dr Surendra Shastri, lead author of the study and doctor of Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India, reported that his team's vinegar screening program for cervical cancer had saved 31 percent of women with the disease.
Cervical cancer screening includes pap smears and HPV tests. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends women to take the tests between the ages of 21 and 65 years old every three years. A pap smear cost range from $50 through $200 while an HPV test cost range from 80 through $100. The HPV vaccine may cost $130 per shot or $500 for three shots over six months. These prices do not include insurance though so it may be cheaper.
Looking at the prices, not everyone can afford the screening tests for cervical cancer especially India which has the biggest mortality rate for this disease. This pushed the researchers to look for an effective and economical way to detect the disease.
The research team launched the vinegar screening test in 20 slums in the city of Mumbai with 150,000 women participants aged 35 to 64 with no cancer history. The team trained the women how to apply the vinegar solution and do a self-assessment afterwards. The vinegar solution once applied in the cervix will turn the cancer cells white and make it visible after one minute. The vinegar test was done every two years in four rounds with the women undergoing re-education to ensure that they are doing the test correctly.
The team then compared the data of the women who did vinegar screening to those who did not do any test at all. Their findings revealed that the mortality rate decreased by 31 percent. This discovery pushed the Indian government to invest on training primary health care workers to provide the screening to all women in the state aged 35-64.
The researchers clarified though that vinegar is not a cure but rather a test to identify if a woman needs cervical cancer treatment.
