A DNA-based screening test is more efficient at identifying the human papillomavirus (HPV) than the currently used method, the Pap test. The new test, which won't need a screening test as often, could soon replace the 50-year-old Pap in a matter of years, experts say.

In a new study conducted by McGill University in Montreal, both tests were conducted on more than 10,000 women between 30 and 69-years-old. The DNA test detected 94.6 percent of the abnormal growths that can lead to cervical cancer, while the Pap test found only 55.4 percent of the same growths.

Women who had an abnormal result were referred for further testing. If both Pap and HPV were used together, 100 percent of the abnormal growths were found.

Eduardo Franco, director of McGill's division of cancer epidemiology, who led the study said, "We've had the Pap test for over 50 years and it's high time it be replaced by technology that's more robust."

The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.