News
Research roundup: Advancing the understanding of female infertility, Hormone therapy in older women linked to tau accumulation, and more
Femtech World explores the latest research developments in the world of women’s health.
Breast cancer death rates have stopped going down
A new paper indicates that breast cancer mortality rates have stopped declining in women older than age 74, reconfirming that breast cancer mortality rates have stopped falling in women younger than age 40. This finding for older women is new.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American women, with over 42,000 women dying of the disease in 2024. Before 1990, female breast cancer rates had been rising, and breast cancer mortality rates had been flat or increasing. Since 1990 there has been a steady decline in breast cancer mortality rates, which public health observers attribute both to the widespread use of mammograms and improvements in treatment.
The investigators conducting this study contend that mortality rates have stopped declining for women under 40 and over 74 due to significant increases in stage IV breast cancers at diagnosis in these two age groups. Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer at diagnosis has an extremely poor prognosis: a 31 per cent five-year survival rate.
This study indicates that increasing rates of advanced stage breast cancer at diagnosis is an important reason breast cancer mortality rates are no longer declining at the rate they once did. The researchers believe that this may be due to healthcare protocols.
The researchers say that the fact that breast cancer mortality rates have stopped declining for women over age 74 is an alarming new trend.
Menopause symptoms associated with future memory and neuropsychiatric problems
Women who exhibit more menopausal symptoms are more likely to later have poorer cognitive function and mild behavioral impairments, both markers of dementia, a new study has shown.
Females are known to have a three-fold greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and will be disproportionately affected by the increasing global dementia burden. A proposed factor that may confer special risk to females is the loss of estradiol at menopause.
In the new study, women who reported more perimenopausal symptoms had greater cognitive impairment, with higher ECog-II total scores as well as more mild behavioural impairment symptoms in mid- to late life, with higher MBI-C total scores.
Hormone therapy was not significantly associated with cognitive function but was linked to fewer behavioural symptoms.
The authors conclude that a higher menopausal symptom burden may indicate susceptibility to cognitive and behavioural changes later in life.
Findings may advance understanding of infertility in mothers
Oxytocin may have a newfound purpose in mammalian reproduction. In times of maternal stress, the hormone can delay an embryo’s development for days to weeks after conception, a new study in rodents shows. According to the authors, the findings about so-called “diapause” may offer new insights into pregnancy and fertility issues faced by humans.
Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the study explored diapause, in which an embryo temporarily stops growing early in its development before it attaches to the lining of its mother’s uterus, a key step leading to the formation of the placenta.
Known to occur in species ranging from armadillos to giant pandas to seals, diapause is thought to have evolved to help expectant mothers preserve scarce resources (e.g., breast milk) by delaying birth until they have enough to successfully take care of their offspring.
Although recent studies have uncovered evidence that a form of diapause may occur in humans, the underlying mechanisms behind it have until now remained unclear.
The findings in mice showed that one type of stress that may cause diapause is milk production and release (lactation), as it requires a mother to expend bodily nutrients to both nursing, already-born pups and to those growing in the womb.
The study revealed that the time between conception and birth (gestation), typically 20 days for these animals, was delayed by about a week in pregnant rodents that were already nursing a litter.
Further, the research team showed that this delay was brought about by a rise in the production of oxytocin, levels of which are known to go up as a mother lactates.
To confirm this role for the hormone, the researchers exposed mouse embryos in the lab to a single dose (either 1 microgram or 10 micrograms) of oxytocin, and found that even these small amounts delayed their implantation in the uterus by as much as three days.
Beyond just pausing pregnancy, the team found that surges of the chemical large enough to mimic the amounts and timing measured during nursing caused loss of pregnancy in the mice in nearly all cases.
The ‘silent’ X chromosome gives the ageing female brain a boost
Researchers may have discovered how the female brain remains resilient in ageing, potentially explaining how most women outlive men and retain their cognitive abilities longer.
Females carry two X chromosomes. One of them is ensconced in a corner in the cell called the Barr body, where it can’t express many genes, and scientists thought it didn’t do much of anything.
But the research team from UCSF discovered that as female mice reached the equivalent of about 65 human years, their ‘silent’ second X started expressing genes that bolster the brain’s connections, increasing cognition.
“In typical ageing, women have a brain that looks younger, with fewer cognitive deficits compared to men,” said Dena Dubal, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology and the David A. Coulter Endowed Chair in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease at UCSF.
“These results show that the silent X in females actually reawakens late in life, probably helping to slow cognitive decline.”
Hormone therapy in older women linked to tau accumulation
A new study from Mass General Brigham researchers has found faster accumulation of tau, a key indicator of Alzheimer’s disease, in the brains of women over the age of 70 who took menopausal hormone therapy (HT) more than a decade before.
The results could help inform discussions between patients and clinicians about Alzheimer’s disease risk and HT treatment.
While the researchers did not see a significant difference in amyloid beta accumulation, they did find a significant difference in how fast regional tau accumulated in the brains of women over the age of 70, with women who had taken HT showing faster tau accumulation in specific regions of the brain. This difference was not seen in women younger than 70.
Studying the structure of energy transport enzymes could lead to new breast cancer treatments
Cancer cells hijack various cellular functions to find and exploit energy and other resources, including a group of enzymes called creatine kinases (CK) that help normal cells maintain a balance of energy.
These enzymes allow cells to transport energy produced at the mitochondria to where it is needed throughout the cell. Cancer cells rely on this machinery for shuttling energy to help meet their ravenous fuel demands. Studies of breast cancer cells have highlighted the importance of a type of CK called ubiquitous mitochondrial creatine kinase (uMtCK).
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys and the Mayo Clinic published findings that provide a detailed structure of human uMtCK and show how its structure changes when bound to the energy storage molecules creatine or adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
To ascertain the structure of uMtCK, the scientists captured images using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). This technology enables investigators to create 3D images of proteins and their ligands by rendering individual atoms. These blueprints may help scientists design new treatments that can stop cancer cells from seizing control of the cells’ energy supply chain to slow or stop tumor growth.
In addition to uncovering the 3D structures of uMtCK and how it interacts with other players involved in energy transport, the research team also tested the only available CK inhibitor called CKi to determine its potential to interrupt abnormal energy transport in breast cancer cells.
The scientists found that CKi successfully reduces breast cancer cell growth. The findings and tools used in this study helped validate that inhibition of the pathway can be effective for the treatment of breast cancer. However, CKi has been shown not to be selective for uMtCK, meaning it is likely to shut down other cellular processes that can lead to high toxicity.
New STI impacts 1 in 3 women: Landmark study reveals men are the missing link
A landmark study reveals that bacterial vaginosis (BV), a condition affecting nearly a third of women worldwide and causing infertility, premature births and newborn deaths, is in fact a sexually transmitted infection (STI), paving the way for a revolution in how it is treated.
Monash University and Alfred Health researchers at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre say their findings hold the key to driving down stubborn and distressing recurrence rates of BV among women.
Authors Professor Catriona Bradshaw and Dr Lenka Vodstrcil say the standard practice of treating BV as an imbalance (disruption) to the vaginal microbiome means that more than 50 per cent of women get it back within three months after the standard week-long treatment of an oral antibiotic.
In their trial of 164 couples with BV in monogamous relationships, they found that treating BV as an STI, with both sexual partners treated simultaneously, achieves significantly higher cure rates than the current practice of only treating women.
In fact, they stopped the trial early when it became clear that BV recurrence was halved in the partner treatment group compared to treating women alone.
More than half of women with gestational diabetes report stigma from healthcare staff, family, friends and wider society, new research shows.
A survey of 1,800 UK women found widespread emotional distress at diagnosis of the condition, a form of high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy, with effects lasting beyond birth.
Gestational diabetes affects around one in 20 pregnancies in the UK, and the findings highlight the wider toll on women diagnosed with the condition.
The study was funded by Diabetes UK and led by researchers at King’s College London and University College Cork.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research and clinical at Diabetes UK, said: “Stigma can have a dangerous and devastating impact on pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes, particularly at a time when emotions and anxieties may already be heightened.
“We know that stigma can lead to shame, isolation and poorer mental health, and may discourage people from attending healthcare appointments, potentially increasing the risk of serious complications.
“This research highlights the urgent need for better support systems, based on understanding and empathy to ensure no one feels blamed or judged during their pregnancy.”
More than two-thirds of women, 68 per cent, reported anxiety at diagnosis, while 58 per cent felt upset and 48 per cent experienced fear.
The psychological impact continued beyond birth, with 61 per cent saying the condition negatively affected their feelings about future pregnancies.
Nearly half of women, 49 per cent, felt judged for having gestational diabetes, while 47 per cent felt judged because of their body size.
More than 80 per cent felt other people did not understand gestational diabetes, and more than a third, 36 per cent, concealed their diagnosis from others.
Gestational diabetes stigma was also common in healthcare settings, with 48 per cent reporting that professionals made assumptions about their diet and exercise, and more than half, 52 per cent, feeling judged based on their blood glucose results.
Many women described a loss of control and a sense of disruption during pregnancy.
Nearly two-thirds, 64 per cent, felt they were denied a normal pregnancy, while 76 per cent reported a lack of control over their pregnancy.
More than a third, 36 per cent, felt abandoned by healthcare services after giving birth, and one in four, 25 per cent, continued to experience depression or anxiety postpartum.
Focus group participants described harmful stereotypes, including assumptions that they were ‘lazy’, had ‘poor eating habits’ or ‘lacked willpower’.
Comments from family and friends included remarks such as “should you be eating that?” and “you must have eaten too much, that’s why you have gestational diabetes.”
The researchers are calling for targeted interventions alongside structured emotional support for women during and after pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes, to improve both mental and physical health outcomes.
Professor Angus Forbes, lead researcher from King’s College London, said: “Stigma and emotional distress are far more common in women diagnosed with gestational diabetes than many realise.
“Everyday interactions, even with those who mean well, can deepen this harm, shaping women’s emotional wellbeing and the choices they feel able to make.
“It’s clear that meaningful action is needed to protect women’s mental and physical health.”
Risk factors for gestational diabetes include living with overweight or obesity, having a family history of type 2 diabetes, and being from a South Asian, Black or African Caribbean or Middle Eastern background.
Article produced in association with London Pregnancy Clinic
One of the most common questions in early pregnancy: NIPT or the nuchal translucency (NT) scan – do I really need both? The 2026 evidence gives a clear answer.
The two tests look at different things, and doing them together is how first-trimester screening works at its best.
This is not a debate between old and new technology. NIPT is a genuine advance in detecting chromosome abnormalities from a maternal blood sample.
The NT scan is the first detailed look at how the fetus is forming. What each sees, the other largely cannot.
What NIPT actually tells you
NIPT – non-invasive prenatal testing – analyses fragments of fetal DNA circulating in the mother’s blood. Taken from around 10 weeks, the test measures chromosome proportions to flag the common trisomies: trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards) and trisomy 13 (Patau).
Most panels include fetal sex and sex-chromosome aneuploidies. Extended NIPT adds selected microdeletion syndromes – most commonly 22q11.2 (DiGeorge syndrome) – and the newest whole-genome platforms can detect copy-number variants down to around 1 Mb across every chromosome.
What NIPT does not look at is anatomy. It tells you whether the chromosomes are numerically correct.
It cannot tell you how the heart, brain, spine, kidneys or abdominal wall are forming, because it analyses DNA, not structure.
The NHS offers NIPT as a second-line screening test, reserved for women who receive a higher-chance result from the combined test – precisely because NIPT is best understood as one part of a wider screening picture rather than the whole of it.
What the NT scan actually tells you
The NT scan is an ultrasound performed at 11 to 14 weeks that measures the nuchal translucency – a small fluid-filled space at the back of the fetal neck.
Protocols developed by the Fetal Medicine Foundation, the group that pioneered first-trimester screening under Professor Kypros Nicolaides at King’s College Hospital, combine the NT measurement with additional markers: nasal bone, ductus venosus flow, tricuspid regurgitation, and maternal serum biomarkers (PAPP-A and free β-hCG).
More importantly, the scan is the first structural assessment of the fetus.
Major anomalies already visible at 11-14 weeks include absence of the cranial vault, large body-wall defects such as omphalocele and gastroschisis, megacystis, severe cardiac defects with abnormal four-chamber views, and skeletal dysplasias.
An increased NT measurement itself – even with a completely normal chromosome result – is associated with a notable rate of structural heart defects and monogenic syndromes that NIPT cannot detect.
Why the combination outperforms either test alone
Taken together, NIPT and the NT scan give complementary coverage.
For the common trisomies, NIPT is more sensitive than the NT scan alone. Pooled data place detection of trisomy 21 above 99 per cent with a false-positive rate around 0.1 per cent.
Combined first-trimester screening without NIPT, using NT and serum markers alone, reaches approximately 90 per cent detection – and up to 95 per cent when nasal bone, ductus venosus and tricuspid flow are added – at a 3 to 5 per cent false-positive rate.
For that specific endpoint, NIPT is the more accurate test.
The NT scan picks up almost everything NIPT misses: structural anomalies, early markers of monogenic syndromes, confirmation of viability, accurate dating, twin chorionicity, and placental position.
An increased NT with a normal NIPT result shifts the clinical conversation toward syndromes like Noonan, Kabuki and the skeletal dysplasias – conditions with single-gene origins rather than chromosomal ones.
Working out which is which often requires genetic testing beyond NIPT. Carrier screening and expanded genetic panels – including those offered at Jeen Health – cover the single-gene territory that NIPT does not address.
When the combination matters most
Several patient groups have most to gain from doing both:
- Women conceiving after IVF or with donor gametes, where maternal age and fertility treatment each subtly shift risk profiles
- Women aged 35 and over, where baseline chromosomal risk is higher and soft markers are more likely
- Anyone with a previous pregnancy affected by an anomaly or loss, where reassurance matters
- Twin pregnancies, where NIPT performance depends on fetal fraction and structural assessment is more complex
- Women who have had a raised or borderline result on earlier screening markers
Chromosomes and anatomy are two separate clinical questions. Each needs its own answer.
What happens if the tests disagree
Disagreements between NIPT and the NT scan are not failures of either test – they are the reason both are done.
- NIPT low-risk, NT raised: consider monogenic syndromes, structural cardiac assessment, and early anomaly ultrasound follow-up
- NIPT higher-chance, scan normal: confirmatory diagnostic testing (CVS or amniocentesis) before any major decision
- NIPT no-call: repeat sampling, gestational age check and clinical review – a no-call itself is associated with an increased chromosomal risk
- Both abnormal: a clear indication for specialist fetal medicine review and early diagnostic testing
Professional guidance from the RCOG supports this complementary approach, emphasising that NIPT is a screening rather than a diagnostic test, and that its results are most useful when interpreted alongside ultrasound findings.
Practical guidance for 2026
The most efficient way to run both tests is in a single appointment window, between 10 and 14 weeks, with the blood sample taken first and the scan performed on the same visit.
Results typically return within 5 to 10 working days for standard NIPT panels, and same-day for the scan itself.
This is the logic behind the SMART Test at London Pregnancy Clinic – extended NIPT paired with a full first-trimester ultrasound in a single appointment, delivering both chromosomal and structural information in one visit. For most patients, it removes the false choice of picking one over the other.
The wider picture
The question of NIPT versus NT scan has a settled clinical answer in 2026: the two tests examine different aspects of the pregnancy, and the most complete first-trimester assessment uses both.
For a pregnancy a woman wants to carry with the fullest possible picture, both tests belong in the first-trimester window. The question worth asking is which clinic offers them together, with the pre- and post-test care that makes the results usable.
If you are deciding on first-trimester screening, a consultation with a fetal medicine specialist is the most useful first step.
Disclaimer: This article is produced for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Clinical guidance referenced reflects published NHS, Fetal Medicine Foundation and RCOG standards as at April 2026. Individual circumstances vary; readers are advised to consult a qualified healthcare professional before acting on any information in this article. This piece was produced in association with London Pregnancy Clinic, which provided background clinical information for editorial purposes. Hyperlinks to external sources are included for reference only and do not represent an endorsement of any product, service or organisation.
Diagnosis
New meta-analysis further supports low re-excisions and high placement accuracy with the Magseed marker
An independent meta-analysis from January 2026, pooling 2,117 patients and 2,176 Magseed marker placements, has reported low re-excision rates (8.2%) and low positive margins (7.6%) when the marker is used to localise non-palpable breast lesions prior to breast‑conserving surgery (BCS).
Al Darwashi et al. (2026) pooled 16 studies to evaluate safety and efficacy outcomes when the Magseed marker was used for preoperative localisation of non-palpable lesions prior to BCS.
The authors reported high placement accuracy, reliable intraoperative retrieval and low rates of positive margins, re-excisions and complications.
In a cohort cited by the review, Moreno‑Palacios et al. (2024) also observed that Magseed marker facilitates less extensive resections compared to guidewires, promising improved cosmetic outcomes while maintaining oncological efficacy.
The key findings
Low re-operation burden: Positive margins occurred in just 7.6% of cases, and only 8.2% required re-excision across the included series.
High placement accuracy: The success rate for Magseed marker placement showed 99.3% positioned within 10 mm of the lesion.
Of note, 96.6% of Magseed markers were placed within an even stricter 5 mm radius.
Reliable retrieval: The pooled intraoperative retrieval success was 99.6% for the Magseed® marker.
“This meta-analysis demonstrated Magseed as a safe and effective preoperative localisation technique for BCS in the management of selected non-palpable breast lesions.” Al Darwashi et al. (2026)
Ready to find out more about the Magseed marker and the Sentimag system?
→ Speak to a Magseed marker expert
Magseed® is a trademark of Hologic, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. Intended for medical professionals and use in the U.S., UK and the EU only.
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