New Cervical Cancer Test

FDA approves cervical cancer viral test.
Bloomberg News (4/20, Doherty) reported the Food and Drug Administration has approved Roche's "test to identify women at high risk of developing cervical cancer." The test can be used to "detect two types of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that account for more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases," the company said in a statement. The Roche product also "identifies 12 other types that pose an increased risk of causing the disease." WebMD (4/20, DeNoon) reported that the new Roche test "detects precancerous lesions over 90% of the time. But it also gives false-positive results about 30% of the time." Dow Jones Newswire (4/20, Mijuk, Subscription Publication) also covered the story.