Women's Health News

RSS

Presence of fetal cells is a double-edged sword for women

For the first time, scientists have found what could be a causative link between the concentration of circulating Y-chromosome fetal cells in women who gave birth to children of either sex and their risk of later developing breast cancer and colon cancer.

4 May 2012

Potential breast cancer patients for new immune-targeting therapies

Breast cancer patients whose tumors express high levels of genes related to immune response are more likely to have their tumor completely eradicated by pre-operative chemotherapy compared to patients with low expression of these genes, Belgian researchers report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

New analysis may help identify breast cancer patients who will benefit from immune suppressant

A new analysis may help doctors identify breast cancer patients who will benefit from treatment with the immune suppressant drug everolimus, say French researchers at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

Many women diagnosed with breast cancer report no family history

More than half the women aged 40-49 diagnosed with breast cancer on screening mammography report no family history, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Positive ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy requires dissection

Contrary to a trend in treatment, breast cancer patients with suspicious lymph nodes should have an ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy, and if that biopsy is positive these patients should undergo an axillary dissection, a new study shows.

4 May 2012

Jogging may add years to life: Study

According to a new study from Denmark, jogging regularly may help a person live longer. The findings show that women who regularly jogged lived 5.6 years longer than women who didn't, and men who jogged lived 6.2 years longer than those who didn't.

4 May 2012

Generon commences F-627 Phase II trial in breast cancer

Generon Corporation Ltd. today announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial for F-627 after US FDA regulatory clearance. The current study is a Phase II, randomized, multicenter, open-label, active-controlled trial of F-627 in women with breast cancer receiving myelotoxic chemotherapy.

4 May 2012

UNFPA Director urges India to address family planning needs

India "has to actively and aggressively address the issue of family planning" in order to improve human development indicators, including health, education and living standards, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said Wednesday, Reuters reports.

4 May 2012

Urodynamic tests before SUI surgery may not be necessary for women

A routine, but expensive, test for women who undergo stress incontinence surgery may not always be necessary, according to a study published in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

4 May 2012

Women's health, health law issues heating up campaigns

News outlets examine how women's health issues and the health law are affecting the presidential race as well as specific campaigns for Senate, congressional and state races.

4 May 2012

Chagas disease especially harmful for expectant mothers; New, better treatments needed

"Chagas disease -- a parasitic infection transmitted through an insect commonly known as the 'kissing bug' -- is one of the most common infections among pregnant women in the Western Hemisphere," Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

4 May 2012

Study: Breast cancer in young women is enriched with aggressive basal-like tumors

Breast cancer in young women is a biologically unique disease that requires customized management strategies, researchers report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference, in Brussels, Belgium.

4 May 2012

Increased maternal intake of choline better for the baby

Pregnant women may have added incentive to bulk up on broccoli and eggs now that a Cornell University study has found increased maternal intake of the nutrient choline could decrease their children's chances of developing hypertension and diabetes later in life.

3 May 2012

UCSD radiation oncologist challenges MD Anderson brachytherapy findings

Catheryn Yashar, MD, radiation oncologist at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and a pioneer in breast brachytherapy is available to offer perspective on the effectiveness of breast brachytherapy - a shorter course of radiation treatment for breast cancer.

3 May 2012

A test to predict breast cancer many years before the disease is diagnosed

Ultimately the findings, in the journal Cancer Research, could lead to a simple blood test to screen women, they say. The test looks for how genes are altered by environmental factors like alcohol and hormones - a process known as epigenetics. One in five women is thought to have such a genetic “switch” that doubles breast cancer risk say researchers.

3 May 2012

Impact of Texas family planning affiliation regulation

As a federal appeals court considers the legality of Texas' family planning "affiliation regulation," a new report provides a preliminary assessment of the impact of the Texas rule on preventive care access by low-income women.

3 May 2012

Latest skirmish over 'war on women' touches a number of health policy concerns

NPR reports that the latest flashpoint involves a $15 billion cut from the health law's prevention trust fund. Meanwhile, The Washington Post offers a fact check on stats offered by the Romney campaign about the Obama administration and women.

3 May 2012

ADM hormone plays a significant role in tubal ectopic pregnancies

Tubal ectopic pregnancy (TEP) is currently the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths during the first trimester and a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) shows that the hormone adrenomedullin (ADM) may help predict this condition.

3 May 2012

Georgia bans most late-term abortions

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill Tuesday banning most late-term abortions -- those after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The law was pushed after controversial research found a fetus can feel pain at that stage of the pregnancy.

3 May 2012

Questions raised over U.K. DfID funding and sterilization in India

A Wall Street Journal editorial addresses reports published on April 14 in the Guardian alleging that the U.K. Department for International Development (DfID) funded a program in India that "has 'forcibly sterilized Indian women and men' -- a practice India supposedly left behind in the 1970s," the editorial states.

3 May 2012