What We’re Reading: New HPV Screenings; Lung Cancer Pills; Migraine Relief Device

New HPV Screening Policies Needed

A study published Wednesday in Cell Host & Microbe suggests that human papillomavirus (HPV) screening policies should be updated due to vaccine effectiveness in preventing related cancers, according to KFF Health News. The randomized controlled study included a population of more than 60,000 Finnish women born between 1992 and 1994 who were divided into 3 groups based on their cities’ HPV vaccination strategies: girls-only vaccination, gender-neutral vaccination, and no vaccination. The study found that gender-neutral vaccination is more effective in eliminating the occurrence of high-oncogenic HPV types. Because of the HPV vaccine’s effectiveness in eliminating low-risk HPV types, the researchers suggest rethinking screening practices, limiting them to detecting only high-risk HPV types. They noted that testing for low-risk HPV types could result in overdiagnosis and a waste of public health resources. Conversely, limiting screening post vaccination to high-oncogenic HPV types would result in less frequent screenings once every 10 years.

Lung Cancer Pills Show Positive Results

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that osimertinib (Tagrisso, AstraZeneca) reduced both the 5-year risk of recurrent cancer and the risk of death in patients with stage 1B to 3A lung cancer by up to 73% and 51% respectively, according to Fox News. Viable candidates for the medication include patients who have had surgery and have the epidermal growth factor receptor genetic mutation (EGFRm) as it helps prevent recurrence in those with the mutation once a tumor is removed. To determine if a patient has the mutation, physicians could either examine a patient's tumor tissue sample or conduct a blood test. In the future, Faiz Bhora, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and central regional chair of surgery at Hackensack Meridian Health, noted that he hopes to prescribe patients the pill up front, before any other procedures or therapies, to shrink tumors before surgery.

Smartphone-Controlled Technology Could Help Alleviate Migraines

The Neurosciences Institute at Allegheny-Health Network found that a new smartphone-controlled technology could help those who suffer from migraines, according to CBS News. In a year-long study, researchers examined the clinical efficacy and safety of Nerivio, a wearable remote electrical neuromodulation device that can reduce migraine symptoms. Andrea Synoweic, DO, a headache doctor at the Neurosciences Institute, explained that the device, which is currently offered by prescription only, is worn on a patient’s upper arm and controlled by a smartphone app. Patients indicate on the app when they are having a migraine, and the treatment is then delivered through the device on the arm. Each treatment lasts for 45 minutes and can be applied every other day, either as a preventive measure or during a migraine. Synoweic noted that the device sends signals to the brainstem, and the brain eventually turns off migraine pain using serotonin and norepinephrine.