TruScreen Group launches five-year cervical cancer screening program in Ho Chi Minh City

Sydney-based biotech TruScreen Group (ASX: TRU) has launched a five-year cervical screening program in Vietnam using its artificial intelligence-enabled, non-invasive TruScreen Ultra screening device.

The company will conduct the community-based program through a partnership it signed in November with the Ho Chi Minh City Public Health Association (HPHA) and distributor Gorton Health Services (GHS).

The program will involve 260,000 women across Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s most populous urban area.

Joint effort

HPHA will organise and manage the program including community promotion, recruitment of social workers, securing local government approvals and screening location agreements.

Gorton will import, distribute and install TruScreen’s devices at screening locations, providing training and support and compiling screening data for analysis.

Vietnam’s Tu Du Hospital, Hung Vuong Hospital and Ung Buou Hospital will provide technical support to the program, with screening to take place at the gynaecology clinics of district health centres and high-tech private clinics.

Cervical cancer prevention

TruScreen’s program sits under the Vietnamese government’s 2016 National Action Plan on Cervical Cancer Prevention, which emphasises the importance of cervical cancer screening through high-performance tests to detect pre-cancerous lesions and enable timely treatment.

The action plan aims to screen 60% of sexually active women aged 30 to 54, specifically targeting smokers and those who present as high risk due to birthing multiple children or living with human papillomavirus (HPV) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Current national screening rates sit at around 25% for an addressable screening population of 36 million.

Real-time results

TruScreen Ultra detects cervical abnormalities in real time, eliminating patient discomfort, the need for sampling and processing of biological tissues or costly, specialised personnel and supporting laboratory infrastructure.

The device requires no cytology and its portability, ease of use and accuracy deliver timely outcomes that align with the need for early cancer detection in large populations.

TruScreen Ultra was added to Vietnam’s approved National Technical List in December 2023 for use in the nation’s public and private healthcare sectors, with more than 200 TruScreen Ultra devices installed so far for use in China, Vietnam, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Life-saving program

TruScreen chief executive officer Marty Dillon said the program could be a life-saver for women living in Vietnam’s most populated city.

“The portability of our screening technology will allow us to take this program straight into the community, increasing screening uptake in Ho Chi Minh City,” he said.

“It could save the lives of more than 2,600 mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and friends and will serve as an important reference site for neighbouring countries that may be considering similar large-scale programs to improve women’s health.”