Pregnancy
Blood test can predict premature birth
Measuring RNA fragments in a pregnant woman’s blood gives a reliable estimate of the baby’s due date and can predict if the baby will arrive prematurely, a Stanford-led team has shown.
Keyword: women's health
Heat therapy
Soaking in a hot tub has unexpected benefits, researchers find
According to new research, obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be able to improve their health outlook with a particularly enjoyable form of therapy: regular sessions in a hot tub. The research found that soaking in a hot tub several times per week for two months results in improved measures of cardiovascular health, beneficial changes in fat tissue and other improvements…
Gender differences
Migraines: Why women suffer more frequently
Of the more than 38 million Americans who experience migraine headaches, 28 million are women. Compared to men, women also experience more frequent and severe migraines and don’t respond as well to drug treatments. Findings from a new study conducted in rats reveal that females may be more susceptible to migraines and less responsive to treatment because of the way fluctuations in the hormone…
Innovative test
Diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common infectious disorder that affects millions of women worldwide. Women of all ages are at risk for BV and its complications, which include a greater susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as herpes simplex virus and HIV. If left undetected and untreated, BV can increase a woman's risk of upper genital tract infections such as pelvic…
Global partnership
Philips and Hologic team up for women’s health
Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, and Hologic, Inc., an innovative women’s health company, announced a global partnership agreement to offer care professionals integrated solutions comprising diagnostic imaging modalities, advanced informatics and services for screening, diagnosis and treatment of women across the world. The collaboration combines Hologic’s innovative…
Refining tissue removal and biopsies
Hologic surgical devices gain European CE Mark
Two new systems developed by Hologic Inc. recently received the European CE Mark: The MyoSure Manual and the Brevera Breast Biopsy System with CorLumina Imaging Technology.
DIY testing
Self-sampling identifies twice as many women at risk of cervical cancer
Using self-sampling followed by HPV testing, more than twice as many women at risk of developing cervical cancer could be identified and offered preventive treatment. This is shown by researchers at Uppsala University in the first randomised study in the world comparing two ways of identifying cervical cancer, published in the British Journal of Cancer. Cervical cancer screening has previously…
HPV infections
Cervical cancer awareness
No woman should die from cervical cancer. Indeed, cervical cancer is the deadliest, yet most preventable gynecologic malignancy. According to the American Cancer Society, there are 13,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer leading to 4,100 cancer-related deaths each year in the United States. Unfortunately, many of these deaths could have been prevented with either regular screening with Pap…
Risk for pregnancy
How Zika infection drives fetal demise
A powerful antiviral protein may act as a checkpoint for keeping or ending a pregnancy. When exposed to Zika virus before birth, mouse fetuses with the protein commit cell suicide, while fetuses without it continued to develop. The result, published in Science Immunology, suggests that the protein, a receptor involved in immune cell signaling, plays a role in spontaneous abortions and other human…
Tumor analysis
Immune response to ovarian cancer may predict survival
A group of international cancer researchers led by investigators from Mayo Clinic and University of New South Wales Sydney has found that the level of a type of white blood cell, called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, present in the tumors of patients with high-grade ovarian cancer may predict a patient’s survival. “We know that a type of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte called cytotoxic CD8 are…
Women's health
Breast cancer treatment has evolved. Here’s where we are.
There is no “one size fits all approach” when it comes to treating breast cancer. The disease is made up of several subtypes, and ideally each type should be treated with therapies that target the unique underlying biological problems. Fortunately, for the past 25 years, long-term survival and cure rates have significantly improved for women with breast cancer. This is due in large part to…
Breast & ovarian cancer
Few women take a recommended genetic test
Of the nearly 4 million women in the United States who have had either breast cancer or ovarian cancer, at least 1.5 million have a high risk of carrying certain types of genetic mutations that could increase their risk for additional cancers in the future.
Senology
The core of patient satisfaction & workflow efficiency
Dr Massimo Calabrese, head of the Complex Operative Unit of Diagnostic Senology in Genoa’s San Martino Hospital, examines aspects of stereotactic breast biopsy procedures and workflow and the need for improvements in certain areas of breast diagnostics.
Fertility preservation
Is 'ovarian tissue freezing' superior to egg freezing?
Many women are turning to egg freezing to promote fertility, but what happens when it isn't an option because of special medical or other conditions? And, what option is there for women who want to preserve hormonal function, not just fertility?
Mobile technology shakes up pregnancy research
Andrew Su, a professor at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), was sitting in an exam room with his newborn son when the idea for a new scientific study hit him.
Oncology
3-D Models yield insights into ovarian cancer
With a unique approach that draws on 3-D printing technologies, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers is developing new tools for understanding how ovarian cancer develops in women.
Infection
Antibodies identified that thwart Zika virus
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified antibodies capable of protecting against Zika virus infection, a significant step toward developing a vaccine, better diagnostic tests and possibly new antibody-based therapies. The work, in mice, helps clarify recent research that also identified protective Zika antibodies but lacked important details on how the…
Infection
Zika: 1.6 million childbearing women are at risk
Research by scientists in the US and UK has estimated that up to 1.65 million childbearing women in Central and South America could become infected by the Zika virus by the end of the first wave of the epidemic. Researchers from the WorldPop Project and Flowminder Foundation at the University of Southampton and colleagues from the University of Notre Dame and University of Oxford have also found…
Staphylococcus aureus
Women more likely to die within 30-days from bacterial blood infection
Clinicians around the world have long suspected that bacteraemia due to Staphylococcus aureus has a worse outcome in women compared to men, but direct evidence has been elusive. A study just published confirms that significantly more women than men diagnosed with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) – a blood infection of the common bacteria – die within 30 days.
Ovarian cancer
The story of the silent killer
Andrea G. Rockall, Consultant Radiologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Visiting Professor of Radiology at Imperial College in London, delivered the prestigious Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Honorary Lecture at ECR 2016 on ‘Imaging the invisible killer: towards personalisation of ovarian cancer care’.
Breast cancer screening
Spanish experts clash over benefits and harms
Breast cancer screening has helped to detect cancer in its early stages, but it is unclear how important this contribution is to mortality reduction because treatment has greatly improved. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment remain associated risks that need to be fully assessed for screening to be of real benefit. Leading experts in this field passionately discussed these controversies in a…
Screening
AB-MRI could be the ideal screening tool
MRI is increasingly relevant to cancer management, especially to detect breast carcinoma. Professor Christiane K Kuhl from the department of diagnostic and interventional radiology at the University of Aachen, Germany, strongly advocated in favour of MRI in breast cancer screening during a dedicated Satellite Symposium organised by Bracco at ECR 2015. Report: Mélisande Rouger
Screening
Is mammo screening worth the risks and costs?
It is tough enough to be a clinician reading dozens of mammograms every day to detect early signs of breast cancer. Now those same radiologists must become statisticians in order to decrypt dozens of studies, challenging whether it is worth reading mammograms in the first place. Report: John Brosky
Oncology
Molecular genetics and proteomics
Women with metastatic breast cancer know they have a slim chance of long-term survival. The question is whether personalised therapy could extend their lives. Report: Cynthia E Keen
The issue is not over-diagnosis but over-treatment
'We desperately need a ‘no treatment’ trial for DCIS', says Clive Wells, Chairman of the European Working Group on Breast Cancer Pathology, and London Regional Co-ordinator for the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) National Breast Cancer Screening Programme. Interview: Frank Swain