Blood-Based Cervical Cancer Screening Test with Enhanced Accessibility

A blood based cervical cancer screening test with better accessibility, affordability & acceptability

Objective

• We propose a dual-marker strategy employing a Double Antibody Sandwich (DAS) ELISA for simultaneous detection of p16 and cytokeratin., Building on this approach, we propose a simple and highly sensitive fiber-optic biosensor for detecting the cancer-related biomarker p16.

Description

• Cervical cancer remains a major global public health challenge, ranking as the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide. Current cervical cancer screening strategies include cytological, molecular, and visual inspection-based methods, each with inherent advantages and limitations. To further improve diagnostic confidence, the same platform will be extended to the simultaneous detection of cytokeratin, an epithelial cancer marker that complements p16 by confirming disease-associated cellular changes. The resulting technology is well suited for large-scale deployment in resource-limited settings.

Impact

• Enhanced early detection and diagnostic accuracy., Rapid, low-cost, and sensitive screening solution., Reduced unnecessary referrals and healthcare burden., Scalable and deployable technology for resource-limited settings.