Vinegar cancer test saves lives, India study finds

MUMBAI, India (AP) — A simple vinegar test slashed cervical cancerdeath rates by one-third in a remarkable study of 150,000 women in the slums of India, where the disease is the top cancer killer of women.
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Pap smears and tests for HPV, a virus that causes most cervical cancers, have slashed cases and deaths in the United States. But poor countries can't afford those screening tools.

This study tried a test that costs very little and can be done by local people with just two weeks of training and no fancy lab equipment. They swab the cervix with diluted vinegar, which can make abnormal cells briefly change color.

This low-tech visual exam cut the cervical cancer death rate by 31 percent, the study found. It could prevent 22,000 deaths in India and 72,600 worldwide each year, researchers estimate.

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