There may be a new prevention method within reach for women at risk for developing breast cancer. The answer lies in a vaccine designed to stop the formation of tumors. The vaccine, developed by doctors from the Cleveland Clinic, has been successful in some animals.

Breast cancer forms in the mammary glands and/or ducts. Tissues in these areas grow and multiply at unregulated rates, forming tumors. The body recognizes these tumors as healthy tissues and will not destroy them as it would a virus. According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, it could take as long as 10 years before a tumor is large enough to detect.

Most current efforts to treat breast cancer focus on how to destroy or stop the growth of already-present cancer cells using tumor antigens. The problem is that these methods essentially kill the tissues. It can also compromise the autoimmune systems of already vulnerable cancer patients. The Cleveland Clinic's vaccine takes a new approach: It’s designed to stop tumors before they’ve had a chance to develop.

Lead researcher Dr. Vincent Tuohy observed mice predisposed to breast cancer for 10 months. The vaccine targeted alpha lactalbumin, a specific protein found in most breast cancer cells. Half of the mice were given the vaccine, while the other half acted as a control group. At the end of the trial, none of the vaccinated mice had developed breast cancer. All of unvaccinated mice had.

"We believe that this vaccine will someday be used to prevent breast cancer in adult women in the same way that vaccines prevent polio and measles in children," Tuohy said in a Cleveland Clinic press release. "If it works in humans the way it works in mice, this will be monumental. We could eliminate breast cancer."

Although there is still much more to investigate before the vaccine is ready for human trials, the research team hopes to be able to administer the vaccine to women older than 40 and women at high risk in the next 10 years.

Visit the Cleveland Clinic’s website to read the press release, or visit Nature Medicine to read the study’s abstract.

Researchers from Stanford University may have discovered a way to boost fertility by stimulating dormant ovarian follicles. This could benefit women whose reproductive systems have been affected by ovarian cancer or ovarian failure.

The technique involves stimulating dormant ovarian follicles, also known as Graafian follicles. These follicles are small spherical cavities that fill with fluid to develop eggs. Once the egg is developed, the woman ovulates and prepares for fertilization.

If these follicles are damaged, however, a woman may not produce eggs and may experience infertility. Only a small portion of ovarian follicles are used each month, and some remain dormant over the course of a woman’s life. Researchers hoped that by stimulating these follicles, they could boost fertility.

Researchers first tested the technique on mice and were successfully able to produce mature eggs and then pups. They were also able to produce eggs in humans, but did not investigate the technique’s effects on conception.

Experiments are still in the early stages, but these results do provide hope for couples struggling with fertility. Lead author of the study, postdoctoral fellow Jing Li of Stanford University Medical School, says it will be a while before they know whether this method will be as successful in humans as it is in mice.

“We hope that aging women, women who have frozen ovarian tissues prior to undergoing cancer treatments, or women with premature ovarian failure could benefit from our research," Li told Health Day.

Read the original article in Health Day, or visit The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to view the study’s abstract.

Two contraceptives—Yaz and Yasmin—will be adding information to their labels informing users about the risk of blood clots.

In two long-term studies of 120,000 U.S. and U.K. women, researchers found that Yaz and Yasmin, two of Bayer’s top-sellers, can cause blood clots in some women. These two contraceptives were released in 2000, so little was known about their long-term effects. This risk is comparative to that of other oral contraceptives, but Bayer Health Care, the company that produces the drugs, plans to provide more thorough information to its consumers.

Higher levels of certain hormones in the blood stream from use of birth control pills can cause blood clots. Drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol, the active ingredients in Yaz and Yasmin, don’t necessarily guarantee clotting problems, but they can promote clotting.

When clots do occur, they bring serious medical risks. One such risk, known as deep venous thrombosis (DVT), occurs when blood clots form in larger veins, usually those in the legs. If this clot breaks off into the blood stream (called an embolism), it can become lodged in vital organs and cause serious damage, stroke, or even death.

The risk of clotting is increased when birth control users smoke, have a history of clots, are overweight, have high blood pressure and/or cholesterol, or are over age 35.

Some contraceptives have, however, been shown to regulate periods, prevent ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and has a lower incidence of ovarian cancer and cysts. Yaz in particular can be used to treat  premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Talking with your doctor can help you find the solution that best fits your needs.

We are convinced of the fact that Yasmin is a good choice for women who wish to have a simple and reliable method of prevention, if the product is used in accordance with (the health guidelines),” Dr. Kemal Malik said in a press release. Malik is the chief medical officer of Bavarian Schering Pharmaceuticals, and worked on the studies.

The risk of blood clots from contraceptives is relatively low—according to Epigee, only about 3 of every 10,000 women using the pill experience clotting. Choosing the right contraceptive can further reduce those risks.

Visit the Yaz/Yasmin site to get the full scoop on these products.

In its annual report "Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2007," the CDC finds that sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are on the rise in the U.S. In addition, the CDC points out that these diseases continue to take a disproportionately heavy toll on women and racial minorities.

The report finds that the number of cases of the most common STD chlamydia climbed to an all-time high of more than 1.1 million in 2007, equal to a rate of 370 cases per 100,000 people, up 7.5 percent from the previous year. While this increase is concerning, CDC researchers note that the increase may be at least partially explained by increased testing due to federal guidelines that recommend STD screening  for sexually active women age 25 and under. The percentage of young women being tested for the infection rose by more than ten percent between 2003 and 2007.

On the other hand, the number of reported cases still vastly underestimates the true number of people infected with chlamydia each year; according to experts, the actual number of cases may be closer to 3 million. The number of cases of gonorrhea held steady from 2006 to 2007 at around 350,000 cases, but as with chlamydia, experts believe the true number of cases may be much higher.

The reason so many cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia go unreported is that they often have no obvious symptoms, but they can lead to complications if left untreated. While both chlamydia and gonorrhea are easily treatable with antibiotics, up to 40 percent of women with untreated gonorrhea or chlamydia infections may develop pelvic inflammatory disease, a condition that causes 50,000 women to become infertile each year. Untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea can also cause ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, and other serious health problems.

What’s more, while these diseases can infect men, women make up an estimated three-quarters of all chlamydia cases and they have a higher risk of getting gonorrhea than men. Infected men may also show no symptoms of an infection and may unknowingly pass the diseases on to their sexual partners.

According to the report, syphilis, a disease once on the verge of being eradicated, is making a comeback, with the number of U.S. cases up 15 percent from 2006 to 2007. While the overall number of syphilis infections remains low (around 12,000 cases in 2007), gay and bisexual men represent 65 percent of those cases according to the CDC. Syphilis can be treated easily in the early stages, but if left untreated it can progress to cause serious, even fatal complications such as strokes.

Huge racial disparities also exist in STD cases. While African Americans represent around 12 percent of the U.S. population, in 2007 blacks accounted for about 70 percent of reported gonorrhea cases and almost half of all chlamydia and syphilis cases (48 percent and 46 percent respectively). According to the CDC, this is likely related to the high rate of poverty among blacks, as studies have shown one of the most important social determinants of sexual health to be socioeconomic status.

When they do occur, symptoms of gonorrhea in men include a burning sensation when urinating, or a white, yellow, or green discharge from the penis, sometimes accompanied by painful or swollen testicles. chlamydia symptoms are similar: some men may also feel a burning during urination or have a discharge. In women, in the rare cases in which symptoms of gonorrhea do occur they are mild and may include painful or burning sensation when urinating, increased vaginal discharge, or vaginal bleeding between periods. chlamydia symptoms in women may cause pain in their lower abdomen or notice a burning sensation or a pus-like discharge during urination.

The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under 26 years old, and supports U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations to screen high-risk, sexually active women for gonorrhea. For more information about STDs, visit the CDCs STD Web site. IF you have questions about STDs but are too shy to ask them in person, join the Healia Health Community for STDs and ask the community, or ask the experts on Healia Health Communities.


_{Photo: trec_lit, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The U.S. Government announced today that a chemical known as bisphenol A, or BPA, may impact human development. Bisphenol A is used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins and can be found in food and drink packaging as well as compact discs and some medical devices and dental sealants/composites.

Although there is no direct evidence that exposure to BPA adversely affects reproduction or development, studies with laboratory rodents show that exposure to high dose levels of BPA during pregnancy and/or lactation can reduce survival, birth weight, and growth of offspring early in life, and delay the onset of puberty in males and females. The National Toxicology Program said laboratory rodents exposed to BPA levels similar to human exposures developed precancerous lesions in prostate and mammary glands - National Toxicology Program

The National Toxicology Program also stated that more research is needed and the possibility that BPA may impact human development cannot be dismissed. For more information on BPA, please visit healia.com or review the National Toxicology Program brief. If you have questions about BPA, also consider joining Healia Communities and ask a health expert.

bisphenol A BPA National Toxicology Program

Most women will be infected by HPV (human papillomavirus, a virus which causes almost all cases of cervical cancer) during their lifetime--making cervical cancer screening one of the most important preventive services for women. HPV is a common sexually transmitted virus that most infected people never realize they have.

In addition to cervical cancer, HPV can lead to a variety of other health problems and cancers such as common warts, genital warts, and cancer involving the vulva, vagina, anus, and head and neck. HPV infections rarely result in cervical cancer as, in most women, the immune system will eliminate the infection and allow cervix cells to return to normal. However, some HPV infections may persist in the cervix for years and these chronic infections may lead to cellular changes that can progress to cancer.

Each year almost 10,000 American women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 3,500 women die from it (National Cervical Cancer Public Education Campaign). The primary screening tool, the Pap test, may prevent deaths among thousands of women who might have otherwise died from cervical cancer complications. Before the Pap test was available, cervical cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

cervical cancer HPV cervical cancer screening