A test for cell changes that can lead to cancer has been developed by scientists.
In the future, the test could be used to predict breast, womb, cervical and ovarian cancer, because it picks up DNA markers for some other common cancers.
The scientists behind the test have shown before that they can spot ovarian and breast cancer by using cells from a routine mammogram.
According to the experts, the new test performs better than current methods for identifying women with advanced cell changes who need treatment.
More than half of those who would have cell changes in the next four years were found to have human Papilloma virus. In the journal, the results were published.
The chief executive of the Eve Appeal charity said that the new method is more specific and doesn't lead to over-treatment.
Screening tools are becoming more effective. We know that we can intervene at an early stage of the disease.
In the UK, there are about 3,200 new cases of the disease each year. Half of women with the disease are still alive.
The experts looked at the extra layer of information on top of the DNA.
The genes that people inherit from their parents are all contained in the same part of the human genome.
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Smoking, pollution, poor diet and being overweight are some of the factors that can affect markers. Scientists think they can detect cancer by looking at the genes in the human body.
Women with cell changes ranging from lower to high risk, women with no cell changes, and women without cell changes who went on to develop high-risk cell changes were included in the study.
Prof Martin Widschwendter is from the department of women's cancer at the University College London. Our approaches to screening need to be changed so that we can keep delivering benefit.
The potential for cancer prevention in the future is offered by building new,holistic, risk-predictive screening programmes.
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