The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday the first home test to track cervical cancer, said the Teal Health, which does the test kit.
Current cervical cancer screening is currently done in a doctor’s office during a pelvic exam, a process that some women find uncomfortable and even painful.
Some patients are not examined about cervical cancer because they do not want a pelvic exam, Dr. Emeline Aviki, a gynecological-oncologist at NYU Langone Health.
“It’s not a fun exam and it’s the easiest thing to cancel,” said Aviki, who worked on some of the first studies to validate the new test.
Cervical cancer is considered highly preventable, thanks to exams and HPV vaccine. The rates of the disease have plummeted since the 1970s, according to a 2025 report from the American Cancer Society, although they have begun to level in recent years. The report estimated that this year, 13,360 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 4,320 women will die.
However, the number of women being displayed has fallen since the mid -2000s. A 2022 study found that 23% of women were late in the sorting of cervical cancer in 2019, above 14% in 2005. Up to half of cervical cancer women were not up to date on their exhibitions, says American Cancer Society.
“The screening of cervical cancer in general is something that saves lives,” said Dr. Jessica Kiley, head of obstetrics and general gynecology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
The new test, called the teal wand, detects HPV using a vaginal swab, making it less invasive than a pap smear, in which the gynecologist inserts a speculum and collects cervical cell samples.
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a sexually transmitted infection and the main cause of cervical cancer. There is no treatment for HPV, but most cases are clear on their own. Several strains, however, are linked to cervical cancer.
Cercete wand is not the first HPV test that uses a vaginal sample: last year, the FDA approved a similar swab, also performed by the patients themselves, which is collected at the doctor’s office.
“What is different about this new indication is that this sample can be collected at home and not in a medical environment,” said Dr. George Sawaya, gynecologist at UCSF Health. “You need to believe logically that you would increase access if people’s main barrier was reaching a medical environment.”
A recent report at Jama Network Open found that women in rural areas are 25% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 42% more likely to die from the disease than women living in cities, a trend that probably reflects less access to exhibitions and care in the country’s rural parts.
Patients will be able to order the test kit after a teleSaúde consultation with a doctor and then collect the sample at home. For now, the product should be prescribed by one of Teal Health’s virtual providers, but the company plans to make it available for other doctors to order. Swab is then sent to a laboratory for analysis.
Teal Health said that if the result is positive, its providers will help provide additional care. After a positive test, women may need additional tests in a doctor’s office.
Still, experts want more information about the cost of the test and if the patients will follow more tests.
“These are some of the uncertainties around you,” said Sawaya.
Kara Egan, CEO of Teal Health, did not say how much the test would cost.
However, she said, as the sorting of cervical cancer is endorsed by a government group called Force -US preventive service task, the company is anticipating that the test will be covered by insurance and expects to know definitely in the coming months. In December, the task force recommended the self-target in the office.
Kiley, the Northwest gynecologist, said it is still important for women to see a gynecologist regularly. An annual exam covers more than just the sorting of cervical cancer, she said.