Cervical cancer screening is about to change as cases rise among young women. Here's what you should know.

• New testing options could make it easier to screen for the most common cause of cervical cancer.
• An FDA-approved kit could allow for testing without a pap smear or pelvic exam.
• The shift is among medical innovations aiming to curb the rising number of early-onset cancers.

People will soon be able to collect their own samples for cervical cancer screening, according to a major new update to the American Cancer Society's screening guidelines.

It's the biggest shift in cervical cancer prevention since HPV testing became the preferred alternative to routine pap smears in 2014.

The new guidance allows patients to swab themselves to test for human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that is the primary cause of cervical cancer.

Cervical rates are rising, particularly in younger people, and screening has declined in recent years.

The hope is that this change — part of a broader trend in healthcare making preventive care simpler — will help to catch more cases by speeding up screening.

While the American Cancer Society (ACS) does not dictate federal screening rules, its guidelines are widely used by oncologists and health systems, often paving the way for formal policy changes.

New technology is helping cancer screening to "evolve," said Dr. Robert Smith, senior author of the report and epidemiologist at the ACS.

"These updated recommendations will help to improve compliance with screening and reduce the risk of cervical cancer," Smith said in a press release.

Screening is crucial for cancer prevention

Cervical cancer is among the most preventable — and treatable — types of cancer, thanks to HPV vaccinations and routine screening. But rates of both have dropped in recent years, in part because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to preventive care.

Until recently, HPV screenings meant booking an appointment with a clinician to collect a sample and do a pelvic exam.

That shifted in 2024, when the FDA green-lit testing for self-collected samples, initially in healthcare settings like primary care offices or mobile health clinics. This year, the agency went a step further, approving  at-home test options with tele-health support.

Research suggests the testing results for self-collected samples are on par with those collected by physicians when it comes to screening for HPV. Some data found they're slightly less accurate, which is why some doctors still prefer clinical samples when possible, according to the ACS.

Still, having an alternative to pelvic exams could increase HPV screening for people who may find it hard to get an appointment due lack of insurance, long wait lists, or logistical hurdles like scheduling, transportation, or childcare.

Self-collection could also increase testing rates for people who may find a pelvic exam intimidating or uncomfortable, whether due to past trauma, medical anxiety, or simply personal preference.

In Australia, where self-collection for HPV became widely available in 2022, rates of cervical cancer have declined, and screening has increased among patients who had previously not been tested.

How it works

Kits for self-collecting samples for HPV testing are available now via prescription from your doctor (or in some cases, through a virtual appointment, depending on what state you live in).

Using the kit is fairly straightforward: you use a device that looks like a large Q-tip or tampon to swab the vagina for a sample, then send that sample to a lab for screening. If the results are negative, you don't need to get an in-person Pap smear.

For certain abnormal results, the next step may be a clinician-collected sample, or another HPV screening in one to three years, according to NIH guidelines.

The current guidelines recommend starting cervical screening at age 25 for people of average risk, and that HPV testing be done every five years through age 65. The full screening guideline updates were published in the American Cancer Society's CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

 

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Tumor-resident T cell levels underlie improved survival in throat cancer ppatients

Research led by the Centenary Institute has discovered that immune cells accumulating within the tumor environment, called tumor-resident T cells, are a critical determinant in survival rates of patients suffering from throat cancer. 

Reported in the prestigious ‘Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer’, the research suggests that strategies aiming to boost these T-cells at tumor sites could be beneficial to patients.
 

Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is a form of throat cancer. It can be caused by environmental factors such as smoking or by human papillomavirus infection (HPV), the same virus that causes cervical cancer in women. We knew that patients with HPV-related OPSCC had far better clinical outcomes compared to other OPSCC patients but we didn’t know why.

 

Ms Rehana Hewavisenti, lead author of the study and researcher at the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney.

In examining over sixty patient samples, Ms Hewavisenti and her colleagues discovered that increased levels of tumor-resident T cells, whether in HPV or non-HPV OPSCC cases, was clearly associated with improved patient survival outcomes.

“It was the accumulation of these immune T-cells, in and around the tumor site that appeared to be key,” said Ms Hewavisenti.

The researchers also found in their study that HPV OPSCC patients generally had far higher levels of tumor-resident T cells compared to their non-HPV OPSCC patient counterparts.
 

We think these HPV positive patients tended to have better clinical outcomes as HPV infection is likely to favor the accumulation of these beneficial T-cells within the tumor area.”

Ms Rehana Hewavisenti

 Dr Mainthan Palendira, Head of the Centenary Institute’s Human Viral and Cancer Immunology Laboratory and senior author on the research paper believes the research findings have major implications.

“Now that we understand how important this immune response is in relation to OPSCC, we can begin developing new treatment strategies focused on recruiting these favorable tumor-resident T cells directly to tumors,” he said.

Dr Palendira believes that looking at the amount of these T-cells in cancer could help clinicians to personalize the best treatment approach for individual patients.

“We also think that our research demonstrating viral (HPV) links with this tumor-resident T cell accumulation could help in future cancer vaccine development efforts too,” he said.

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Attention adults: You need vaccinations too! (Important ones listed)

While we keep a close eye on our child’s vaccination chart to ensure they don’t miss out on any vaccination, do you get yourself vaccinated? The question must have startled many - vaccinations for adults - is that even a thing? According to a Pulmonologist, “When we think of vaccines, we envision teary-eyed children at the doctor’s clinic. Vaccines and immunization in India, so far, have been primarily directed towards infants and children, although, vaccination is as important for adults as it is for children.”

For the uninitiated, adolescents and adults carry an even greater burden of illness and death from vaccine preventable infectious diseases than do children. “We must understand that as we age, our immune system begins to deteriorate – a process called “immunosenescence” – as a result of which our ability to fight an infection reduces significantly. Also, many adults suffer from various illnesses which suppress our immune mechanisms further, thus making us more vulnerable to a wide array of infections. Diseases like diabetes, chronic lung disease, chronic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, HIV, cancers, leukemias, lymphomas are the major diseases responsible for a poor immune system in adults. Also, people who smoke, consume excessive alcohol, and those on chemotherapy or immunosuppressive therapy are more susceptible to acquiring infections. For all these reasons it becomes important for adults to also take the recommended vaccines.” 

So what are some of the vaccines that adults should consider important? Dr Nangia clarifies, “The vaccine recommendations for adults depend on factors like age, lifestyle, high-risk medical conditions, travel plans, and which vaccines a person has received in the past. The most important and common vaccines recommended in India are those against influenza, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis A & B, typhoid, human papillomavirus and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis.”

Important vaccines for adults: Infleunza, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis A & B, typhoid, human papillomavirus and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis

Influenza vaccination for adults

And not only your child but experts recommend even adults should get Influenza vaccine every year at the onset of fall. Unlike the West, where influenza is seasonal, in tropical countries like India, it circulates throughout the year. Each year, 3 to 5 million cases of severe influenza are reported worldwide. Depending on the virus’ ability to harm a person, each year up to 650,000 deaths happen due to Influenza. The true burden of influenza is generally under-recognized due to a number of reasons including under-testing and under-reporting.


WHO recommends that pregnant women should have the highest priority when it comes to vaccination right now. According to a Dr.,  “Additional risk groups to be considered for vaccination, are children aged 6 months - 5 years, the elderly, individuals with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, and healthcare workers. Vaccination of healthcare workers should be considered as part of a broader infection control policy for healthcare facilities.


Considering the impact of Influenza, the most important strategy is prevention through annual vaccination which can be administered at any time of the year. It is advisable to administer the latest strain of influenza vaccine for children, adults and healthcare workers to protect them against influenza. Although Influenza vaccine is not effective against COVID-19, it will help protect individuals from the burden of seasonal Influenza. 

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