Every week, the editors of Cancer Today magazine bring you the top news for cancer patients from around the internet. Stay up to date with the latest in cancer research and care by subscribing to our e-newsletter. 

Self-administered Cervical Cancer Screening Added to Federal Guidelines

Updated screening guidelines allow women the option of taking a self-administered human papillomavirus (HPV) test to screen for cervical cancer screening. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released new guidelines urging women ages 30 to 65 with an average risk for cervical cancer to undergo an HPV test every five years, ABC News reported. The HPV test is able to detect the sexually transmitted virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer. The guidelines included the use of self-swab tests at doctor’s offices or an at-home test that people can order after telehealth visits, NBC News reported. With a self-administered HPV test, women insert a plastic tube into the vagina, as they would for inserting a tampon, then twist the handle to swab cells for a lab to examine later. The alternative—Pap smears—requires the insertion of a metal or plastic speculum to widen the vaginal canal to swab the cervix for cells. “The addition of self-collection really empowers women to make this choice for themselves,” Ann Sheehy, chief medical officer of HRSA, told ABC News. The Pap smear is still included as an option and is recommended once every three years for women ages 21 to 29, but it is no longer the preferred screening method for women ages 30 and older. Most private insurance companies are required to cover screening recommended in the guidelines and have until Jan. 1, 2027, to add the at-home tests, which can cost nearly $250 out of pocket, NBC News reported. “By doing this, we’re going to get some of these people that have been falling through the cracks and not getting this test done in advance,” Tom Engles, administrator of HRSA, told ABC News. “And by doing that, we’re going to save lives.”

Low-dose Megestrol Plus Letrozole Slows Tumor Growth in Early-stage Breast Cancer

Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer accounts for nearly three-quarters of all breast cancers. To inhibit tumor growth, people often receive hormone therapy to lower their estrogen levels. However, these treatments can cause menopause-like symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and weight gain. A study published in Nature Cancer showed that low-dose megestrol plus standard hormone therapy slowed tumor growth in women with early-stage estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Researchers evaluated the effects of letrozole with or without megestrol in 198 women. Of those, 51 received letrozole only, 74 received low-dose megestrol plus letrozole, and 73 were treated with high-dose megestrol plus letrozole, HealthDay reported. Patients received treatment for two weeks before surgery to remove the tumors. Those treated with either dose of megestrol had significantly greater reduction in tumor growth compared with letrozole alone. All three groups had similar rates of side effects, with most of them being mild. The most common side effects included joint pain, fatigue, hot flashes and nausea. “Although the higher dose of progesterone is licensed as an anticancer treatment, over the long term, it can have side effects, including weight gain and high blood pressure,” Rebecca Burrell, a study author and oncology trainee at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, said in a news release. “But just a quarter of the dose was as effective, and this would come with fewer side effects.”

Targeted Therapy Combination Plus Chemotherapy Broaden Options for BRAF V600E Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

A phase III clinical trial presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium showed that adding Braftovi (encorafenib) and Erbitux (cetuximab) to a chemotherapy regimen known as FOLFIRI significantly reduced the size or number of tumors in the first-line treatment of people with BRAF V600E-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. The Food and Drug Administration in 2024 approved Braftovi and Erbitux with cetuximab and a chemotherapy regimen called FOLFOX for metastatic colorectal cancer that has a BRAF V600E mutation, the ASCO Post reported, but the FOLFIRI regimen, which uses fluorouracil, folinic acid and irinotecan, is used in approximately one quarter of people with this diagnosis for reasons including lower reported rates of peripheral neuropathy. In the trial, 73 people received Braftovi and Erbitux with FOLFIRI and 74 people received FOLFIRI with or without bevacizumab. After a median follow-up of 10 months, 64% of people who were treated with Braftovi and Erbitux and FOLFIRI responded to the treatment, with either a decrease in tumor size or extent of cancer, or the disappearance of all signs of cancer from treatment. In contrast, 40% of people receiving FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab had a partial or complete response to treatment. More than half of people in the targeted treatment group with FOLFIRI continued to respond to treatment after six months compared with a third of people in the other group. Both groups had similar rates of side effects. “This additional data from the BREAKWATER trial reveals that it is the targeted therapy backbone that provides the better disease control and response rate in BRAF V600E-mutant colorectal cancers,” Joel Saltzman, a medical oncologist at Taussig Cancer Center at Cleveland Clinic, told the ASCO Post. “The addition of FOLFIRI chemotherapy in the frontline setting will give oncologists and patients more options when selecting a first-line regimen.”