India has validated Truenat HR-HPV-Plus, an indigenous Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test for cervical cancer screening

India has validated Truenat HR-HPV-Plus, an indigenous Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test for cervical cancer screening

¨     India has validated Truenat HR-HPV-Plus, an indigenous Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test for cervical cancer screening.

¨     The test was developed by Molbio Diagnostics.

¨     The validation involved researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Council of Medical Research institutes, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France.

¨     Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of viruses, and persistent infection with high-risk types is strongly associated with cervical cancer.

¨     Truenat HR-HPV-Plus detects eight high-risk HPV types.

¨     These eight HPV types account for approximately 95% of cervical cancer cases.

¨     Cervical cancer is a malignant disease of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus.

¨     India records around 127,000 new cervical cancer cases and about 80,000 deaths annually.

¨     The study was published in the International Journal of Cancer.

¨     Researchers evaluated the test using 1,159 cervical samples.

¨     The assay became the first indigenous point-of-care HPV screening test in India to fully satisfy international validation criteria.

¨     The evaluation compared four Indian-developed HPV tests with standards used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

¨     The study received support from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council under the Grand Challenges India initiative.

¨     The validation marks a significant step toward improving early detection, screening, and prevention of cervical cancer in India.