Insight
Millennial women are missing lifesaving cancer checks – how to close the cervical screening gap
As new European research shows millennials are more likely to miss cervical cancer screenings than any other generation, experts warn that failing to address major barriers – from fear to family and workplace pressures – could undermine global elimination targets.
Results from a survey of over 5,500 women aged 16-64 found that 31 per cent of eligible millennials have postponed or missed their cervical screening appointments, a figure that is 27 per cent higher than the average across all age groups.
The research, commissioned by Roche Diagnostics and conducted by GWI across six European countries, also found that, despite screening services being widely available free of charge or heavily subsidised in many countries, specific challenges make accessing routine cervical screening difficult for some.
Fears related to pain, embarrassment or stigma surrounding cervical screenings are well-documented as contributing to lower screening rates. But the research also reveals particular challenges millennials face in balancing careers, caregiving responsibilities, and relationships often result in appointments being missed or delayed at a higher rate compared to other age groups.
The ‘have it all’ generation?
“Millennials are often said to be the ‘have it all generation,’ juggling careers, caregiving, and societal expectations. Yet, they tend to put themselves last,” said Joanna Sickler, Vice-President, Health Policy and External Affairs at Roche Diagnostics.
“The research shows that millennials are disproportionately failing to prioritise cervical screening because of a mix of emotional, logistical, and societal pressures.”
Cervical cancer affects more than 600,000 women globally every year, yet it is preventable in almost all cases through vaccination, early detection, and treatment of precancers. Cervical screenings remain vital for detecting human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of over 99 per cent of cervical cancers, but participation has declined in recent years.
In England, cervical screening rates have fallen to around 69 per cent for women aged 25–64 – well below the NHS England target of 80 per cent – with rates lower for younger women (66 per cent) than older women (74 per cent). According to NHS data, this means over five million women are not up to date with their routine check-up.
The high prevalence of millennials missing screening appointments is particularly concerning, given that they may be the age group that is most at risk. Between 1990 and 2019, cases of early-onset cancer among people under 50 increased by 79 per cent worldwide, and mortality by 28 per cent, making millennials the first generation at greater risk of developing tumours than their parents.
Research also indicates a rise in cases of cervical cancer among millennial women, despite the World Health Organization’s commitment to eliminating it as a public health problem by 2030. A study published in JAMA in 2022 revealed that the incidence of the disease has risen by an average of 2.5 per cent per year among women 30 to 34 years old since 2012.
Experts believe that the reduction in screening uptake among this age group could be contributing to the rise in cervical cancer rates.
A separate study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that of over 20,000 US women surveyed between 2005 and 2019, the percentage of those overdue for cervical cancer screening rose from 14 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2019.
Women aged 21–29 were significantly more likely to be overdue for screening than those between the ages of 30 and 65.
Fear remains the biggest barrier
According to Roche’s research, fear remains the biggest barrier to attending cervical screenings, with 30 per cent citing fear as the primary reason for missing or delaying their appointments, driven by anxiety about discomfort, pain, or the potential results. This was particularly common among younger generations.
In Spain, 43 per cent of respondents cited fear as a reason for delay, the highest across all surveyed markets. Across the wider survey, 36 per cent of those aged between 16 and 34 years old and 37 per cent of those without children were also significantly more likely to delay due to fear.
This appears to be compounded by a lack of awareness and open dialogue about cervical screening. Despite various public health initiatives to encourage uptake, nearly 50 per cent of respondents, including 43 per cent of millennials, admitted they had never spoken to anyone about cervical screening, with 10 per cent saying they would be more likely to attend if encouraged by family, friends, or colleagues.
“It’s important to create an environment where discussing cervical screening and women’s health topics is not only accepted but encouraged,” Sickler tells Femtech World.
“This can only happen if these topics become commonplace in homes, workplaces and communities.”
Work, family and societal pressures
But fear is not the only factor.
The survey also found that professional commitments and workplace demands are the second-largest barrier for all participants. High-income earners, or those in the top third of income ranges across markets, are 22 per cent more likely than average to delay appointments, and 27 per cent of this group cite workplace demands as the reason for postponement.
Caregiving responsibilities are also often prioritised over personal health, particularly for parents, with 27 per cent of parents surveyed reporting they had delayed or cancelled cervical screening appointments.
Among millennials who postponed their screenings, 12 per cent identified assistance with travel or childcare as a significant motivator, while 19 per cent said greater workplace flexibility and encouragement from employers would help them prioritise their appointments.
According to Sickler, although 66 per cent of managers agree on the importance of taking an active role in supporting employees to attend screenings, only 14 per cent offer flexibility, and just eight per cent have discussed the topic at work.
At the same time, evidence shows the burden of cervical cancer falls disproportionately on marginalised and underserved communities, with incidence rates of cervical cancer in the UK 65 per cent higher in the most deprived quintile of the population, and approximately 520 cervical cancer cases each year linked to deprivation.
Meeting women where they are
Professor Daniel Kelly OBE, Cardiff University, and co-chair of the HPV and Hep B Action Network at the European Cancer Organisation, says healthcare systems “must evolve to meet women where and how they live”. And more broadly, society and communities should “foster open dialogue” to “normalise cervical health as a shared responsibility”.
Sickler agrees that healthcare systems must adapt to better address some of the barriers facing millennial women through practical and cultural solutions – from strengthening awareness and support to streamlining booking systems and expanding access to alternative screening options like self-sampling.
“The latest findings highlight opportunities to improve screening participation through education, workplace flexibility and access to resources,” she says.
“Whilst millennials are the most likely to miss cervical screening appointments, our research also shows they are also the generation most likely to request alternative screening options (21 per cent) and a more convenient booking process (35 per cent).
“To meet these needs, health systems could expand alternative screening options such as self-collection, which offers privacy and convenience and helps overcome barriers like embarrassment, fear of discomfort, and cultural stigma.
Sickler adds: “Streamlining booking processes, strengthening patient education, and fostering open conversations to normalise cervical health are crucial steps in overcoming key barriers.”
NHS to roll out home HPV testing
In England, where the NHS has promised to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, more women are expected to be offered home screening kits as part of the cervical screening programme outlined in the recently published 10 Year Plan.
From January 2026, HPV self-sampling kits will be offered to those who have rarely or never attended their cervical screening appointment to allow them to test at home. The programme is specifically aimed at groups consistently missing vital appointments, including younger women, ethnicities facing cultural hurdles, people with disabilities and the LGBT+ community.
The new policy was informed by research carried out by King’s College London in 2021, which provided HPV self-sampling kits to women and people with a cervix who were at least six months overdue for their cervical screening. The YouScreen trial found that offering self-sampling kits could boost the numbers screened in England by about 400,000 each year.
According to Dr Anita Lim, visiting senior research fellow at King’s and chief investigator of the trial, the findings demonstrated that self-sampling could reach people who find it difficult to attend traditional screening, including those from diverse and underserved populations.
“It’s hugely positive to see this now reflected in national policy, helping more people get protected from this highly preventable cancer,” said Lim.
While screening carried out by a clinician is still considered the “gold standard” for HPV testing, experts and leading charities such as Cancer Research UK and The Eve Appeal have welcomed the initiative, saying it will help remove barriers and make cervical screening more accessible. And anyone who tests positive for HPV through self-sampling will be encouraged to attend a clinician-taken follow-up screening test.
“The gold standard way to test for HPV is still a sample taken by a clinician, and this will be suitable for most people,” said Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, when the plans were announced back in June.
“But beating cervical cancer means beating it for everyone, and this move helps to bring us closer to that goal.”
A ‘societal movement’ to beat cervical cancer
Improving access to self-screening is one solution, but as Sickler highlights, it’s not the whole solution.
Roche’s new campaign, ‘Cervical cancer: it only ends with all of us’, focuses on several different ways to encourage those eligible to overcome barriers and attend clinician-collected cervical screenings.
This includes promoting more emotional and practical support from loved ones, better education across communities, and open conversations around the topic.
“The campaign aims to improve attendance rates through a societal movement to encourage and empower eligible populations to attend their cervical screening appointments,” Sickler adds.
“Only by creating an inclusive environment where women’s health topics are discussed will we be able to increase attendance and prevent cervical cancer from continuing to claim lives.”
Natural Cycles has received its sixth FDA clearance for an updated fertility algorithm designed to personalise digital contraception.
The regulator cleared the company’s next-generation NC° Fertility Algorithm, which combines statistical modelling with machine learning to predict fertile and non-fertile days.
Natural Cycles said the algorithm was trained on tens of millions of real-world fertility data points and adapts to individual cycle patterns.
“People don’t just want effective birth control; they want a method that fits naturally into their lives,” said Dr Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, chief executive and co-founder of Natural Cycles.
“One of the unique advantages of a software-based contraceptive is that it can continue to evolve.
“As our scientific understanding of fertility grows and we continue to learn from more than a decade of real-world data, we can responsibly refine the technology through rigorous research, clinical validation, and FDA review.
“This latest clearance is the result of that work, helping us give many users more flexibility while maintaining the effectiveness they rely on.”
Evidence supporting the FDA clearance showed that the updated system maintained the app’s established safety and effectiveness while giving many users more Green Days.
Green Days are those on which the app confirms that pregnancy protection is not needed.
The birth control app remains 98 per cent effective when used as intended and 93 per cent effective with typical use, according to the company.
Natural Cycles said these rates place it in the same effectiveness category as the combined oral contraceptive pill.
Typical use includes mistakes or inconsistent use, while intended use means following the method correctly.
Digital contraception uses technology and physiological data, such as body temperature, to provide personalised fertility predictions.
Natural Cycles said its updated algorithm can identify fertile and non-fertile days more precisely than traditional fertility awareness methods, which may classify larger parts of the cycle as potentially fertile.
The changes provide more Green Days while maintaining effectiveness, improve performance for people with irregular cycles and better handle lower-quality temperature or biomarker data, the company said.
A biomarker is a measurable biological signal, such as body temperature, that provides information about processes taking place in the body.
Natural Cycles also said the system can personalise its predictions more quickly as a user’s menstrual cycle changes over time.
“Years ago, the question was whether digital contraception could work. Today, Natural Cycles has demonstrated robust clinical and real-world evidence that it can,” said Dr Kerry Krauss, senior medical adviser at Natural Cycles.
“The next chapter for digital contraception is making it more personalised and easier to use while maintaining the same high standard of safety.
“This FDA clearance demonstrates how advances in AI and machine learning can improve the user experience while preserving the scientific rigour expected of a regulated medical device.”
Natural Cycles has filed a patent application covering key innovations in the updated algorithm.
The decision follows the FDA’s first De Novo clearance of the company’s birth control app in 2018.
Later clearances allowed the app to integrate with the Oura Ring in 2021 and Apple Watch in 2023.
In 2024, the FDA cleared a Predetermined Change Control Plan, creating a regulatory pathway for future hardware integrations.
Natural Cycles said the plan has since enabled the launch of its NC° Band and other hardware integrations, including a Garmin connection introduced in March 2026.
A further clearance in 2025 allowed the birth control app to be offered both over the counter and by prescription.
The company has also received regulatory authorisations in more than eight markets worldwide, including Europe, Canada, Brazil, Australia, South Korea and Singapore.
Insight
Experimental treatment significantly slows progression of fatal brain disease in women, study finds
Davunetide may significantly slow the progression of a fatal brain disease in women, according to a new analysis of clinical trial data.
The findings indicate that women and men with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) may respond differently to the experimental treatment.
Progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University led the analysis and said the results reinforce the need for sex-specific approaches to neurodegenerative diseases.
Neurodegenerative diseases are conditions in which nerve cells in the brain or nervous system gradually lose function and die.
The team reanalysed data from a 52-week international clinical trial involving more than 300 people with PSP.
The disease is caused by the abnormal accumulation of tau protein in the brain. Tau is a protein found in nerve cells that builds up abnormally in people with PSP.
There is currently no effective drug treatment for the disease.
The work was led by professor Illana Gozes of the Sagol School of Neuroscience and the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University.
The research team included current and former students Dr Guy Shapira, Jason Blatt and Liri Guz, together with professor Noam Shomron.
The original clinical trial found that Davunetide was safe but ineffective.
However, the researchers separated female and male participants and re-examined the data using updated assessment measures recommended by the FDA.
Women treated with Davunetide experienced a significant slowing of disease progression, while no similar effect was observed in men.
The treatment helped preserve essential movement and functional abilities, including balance, fine motor skills and everyday tasks such as using cutlery, buttoning clothes and washing the face and hands.
Fine motor skills are the small, precise movements needed for tasks involving the fingers and hands.
Treated women also showed significant improvements in language ability, working memory and overall cognitive function.
Cognitive function covers mental abilities such as memory, attention, language and problem-solving.
The analysis also identified profound molecular differences between women and men.
The relationship between levels of pathological tau in cerebrospinal fluid and clinical symptoms was completely reversed between the sexes.
Cerebrospinal fluid is the clear liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. A biomarker is a measurable sign that can indicate disease activity.
For example, language abilities declined significantly as tau pathology increased in women, but not in men.
The researchers said this suggests the disease mechanisms may work differently in women and men, potentially explaining their different responses to treatment.
According to professor Gozes, overlooking biological differences between the sexes may hide a genuine treatment effect.
“Our data show that analysing women and men separately is not merely a statistical exercise, but an essential tool for developing more effective treatments for neurodegenerative brain diseases,” she said.
The researchers believe the findings provide a strong scientific basis for future clinical trials and treatment protocols designed from the outset to account for patients’ sex.
These trials could evaluate Davunetide as a targeted treatment for women with PSP.
They said the approach may also pave the way for more precise treatments for tau-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative brain disorders.
The study was supported by ExoNavis Therapeutics, which is developing Davunetide for brain diseases under licence from Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company.
News
From Hologic to Ark Surgical: Why Joseph LaBruzzo is betting on the future of women’s surgical innovation
After more than two decades leading organisations at some of the world’s most respected medical device companies, including Hologic, SenoRx Breast Care, and BTL Industries, Joseph B. LaBruzzo is embarking on a new chapter as President & CEO of U.S. Operations and Board Member at Ark Surgical.
We sat down with Joseph to discuss what drew him to Ark Surgical, why he believes women’s surgical innovation is entering a transformative era, and what it takes to bring meaningful technologies from concept to standard of care.
You have held leadership positions at some of the biggest names in MedTech. What attracted you to Ark Surgical?
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work with organisations that developed technologies capable of changing the standard of care.
What attracted me to Ark Surgical is the opportunity to help address a meaningful unmet need in gynecologic surgery with an innovation that has the potential to improve patient outcomes while preserving the benefits of minimally invasive surgery.
Opportunities like that don’t come along very often.
FemTech World recently highlighted that many women remain unaware of gynecologic cancers and that unexpected diagnoses continue to have a profound impact on patients and families.
How has your own experience shaped the way you think about innovation in women’s health?
Earlier in my career, I witnessed many women receive life-changing cancer diagnoses.
Those experiences stayed with me and reinforced my belief that if there’s an opportunity to reduce risk through better innovation, it’s one worth pursuing.
That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to Ark Surgical.
The vast majority of minimally invasive gynecologic procedures are performed for conditions believed to be benign. Unfortunately, in rare cases, pathology later reveals an unexpected malignancy.
LapBox was designed with a proprietary dual-wall tissue containment system to help facilitate contained specimen retrieval and minimise the risk of tissue spillage during laparoscopic procedures.
I believe innovations like this can help surgeons manage the unexpected while preserving the many benefits of minimally invasive surgery for women.
Women’s health has gained significant momentum in recent years, yet surgical innovation often receives less attention than diagnostics or therapeutics. Why do you think that is?
Women’s health has historically been underfunded and underserved across many areas of medicine, and surgery is no exception.
While we’ve seen tremendous advances in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, there are still important opportunities to improve the surgical experience for both physicians and patients.
Innovation that enhances safety, efficiency, and outcomes has the potential to make a lasting impact.
What excites you most about LapBox?
LapBox addresses a very real challenge that gynecologic surgeons face during minimally invasive procedures.
It was thoughtfully designed to integrate seamlessly into the surgical workflow while providing an added layer of confidence when tissue retrieval is required.
I believe technologies that solve real clinical challenges in a practical way have the greatest potential to become part of the standard of care.
What do you see as the biggest unmet needs in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery today?
The future of surgery isn’t simply about making procedures less invasive. It’s about making them smarter and safer.
Surgeons need technologies that integrate seamlessly into their workflow while helping them navigate increasingly complex clinical situations.
Every advancement that helps reduce risk while preserving the benefits of minimally invasive surgery has the potential to improve outcomes for both physicians and patients.
That’s where I believe the greatest opportunities for innovation exist.
As you take on this new role, what are your priorities over the next 12 months?
Our focus over the next 12 months is to build a strong foundation for growth. That means expanding physician partnerships, driving early clinical adoption, growing our team, and ensuring that more surgeons have access to technologies like LapBox.
At the same time, we’re focused on building strategic relationships with investors, healthcare systems, and industry partners that support our long-term vision.
What advice would you give entrepreneurs building the next generation of women’s health companies?
Start with a real clinical problem and never lose sight of the patient.
Great technology alone isn’t enough. You also need strong clinical evidence, physician advocates, and a clear market strategy. The companies that succeed are the ones that bring all of those pieces together while remaining focused on improving patient care.
About Joseph B. LaBruzzo
As President & CEO of U.S. Operations and Board Member, Joseph LaBruzzo is leading Ark Surgical’s U.S. growth strategy, physician partnerships, strategic investment initiatives, and organisational expansion, supporting the company’s mission to advance safer minimally invasive gynecologic surgery through innovative technologies.
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