New biomarker for cervical cancer.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are conducting a study to evaluate a new biomarker for improving cervical cancer screening, according to Genomics & Genetics Weekly. The clinical trial will examine cervical smears for telomerase, a protein released into cells when chromosomes become genetically unstable. The protein's presence in cervical cells removed during Pap smear testing may help predict which women are at greatest risk for developing cervical cancer. The Pap test results in more than 2.5 million abnormal smears in the U.S. each year, but only a small number of those (less than 1%) represent invasive lesions.