Word: ovarian
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GLOWING RESULTS What makes ovarian cancer so deadly is that there's no foolproof way to catch it early. Now researchers have developed an extremely sensitive test that finds tumors when they're still tiny--at least in mice. The animals were injected with a gene that infects only cancer cells and produces a protein that glows under fluorescent light...
...tumor has been removed in order to kill any cancer cells the surgeon has missed. By confining the drugs to the site of the tumor, the effects on other organs are minimized--always a major consideration in chemotherapy. The same concept has since been applied to prostate, spinal and ovarian cancers...
TAKE TWO Just a couple of weeks ago, scientists reported that women using estrogen-replacement therapy for 10 years or more could double their risk of ovarian cancer. Now comes some reassuring news. A preliminary study suggests that combining estrogen with progestin wipes out any increased risk from the estrogen. An estimated 10.5 million American women take estrogen alone--most after they have had a hysterectomy. About 6.5 million are on the combo...
...conducted at a time when most doctors still gave women estrogen by itself. Since then, women who haven't undergone a hysterectomy have generally received estrogen plus progestin because the combo reduces the risk of uterine cancer. It's quite possible taking both drugs reduces the risk of ovarian cancer as well...
...JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. Nor is there anything in the latest study to suggest that women should avoid taking hormones for a few years around menopause. However, as a practical matter, women who have a family history of ovarian cancer or have undergone a partial hysterectomy (ovaries still intact) may want to rethink their choices for long-term hormone replacement. The rest of us are just going to have to wait four years for more definitive answers...