Cancer
Vaping reduces toxic chemical exposure in pregnancy
Pregnant women who vape are exposed to lower levels of toxic chemicals than those who smoke, new research led by scientists at City St George’s, University of London has found.
The study recorded reductions ranging from 44 per cent to 97 per cent in levels of harmful substances among women who exclusively vaped compared with those who exclusively smoked.
Researchers analysed 14 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – toxic chemicals inhaled when smoking or vaping that are linked to cancer, respiratory disease and cardiovascular conditions – using urine samples collected from 140 pregnant women at five hospitals across the UK.
The research is the first to rigorously compare exposure to toxic chemicals from smoking and vaping during pregnancy.
Participants were divided into five groups: those who exclusively smoked (38), who only vaped but previously smoked (35), who smoked and vaped (25), who smoked while using nicotine replacement therapy (10), and those with no history of using any nicotine or tobacco products (32).
Urine samples were taken during routine antenatal appointments and tested for levels of nicotine and harmful substances. Of the 14 VOCs assessed, 10 were found to be significantly lower in women who exclusively vaped compared with those who exclusively smoked.
Researchers also found that levels of 13 VOCs were similar in women who exclusively vaped and those who had never used nicotine or tobacco products.
“Just because mothers-to-be are exposed to fewer harmful chemicals by opting to vape instead of smoking cigarettes, does not mean vaping during pregnancy is safe,” said Professor Michael Ussher, professor of behavioural medicine from the School of Health and Medical Sciences at City St George’s, University of London, who led the study. Understanding exposure to these toxins in pregnant women is only one half of the picture. We’re now embarking on the most rigorously designed study, to date, to look at whether vaping during pregnancy has any harmful health outcomes for mother or baby.”
Although the researchers examined the major known toxins at the time the study began, they noted that some toxins were present at similar levels in both smokers and vapers. They also warned that other harmful substances not included in the analysis may be present in vaping products.
“Vaping products are constantly evolving, and so we need to keep an eye on any new toxins that we need to check for. It’s an ever-evolving field of research,” Professor Ussher added.
Stopping smoking during pregnancy remains a key health priority for both mother and baby, with more women choosing to vape as a method of quitting. Until now, there has been limited reliable data on exposure to harmful substances from vaping during pregnancy.
The research was carried out in collaboration with the University of Nottingham, University College London, King’s College London, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the UK Health Security Agency. It was funded by Cancer Research UK.
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)
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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.
Mental health
Poor mental health, poverty and pollution significantly raise women’s heart failure risk – study
Poor mental health, poverty and pollution can raise women’s heart failure risk, with up to one in four cases potentially preventable, a study has found.
UK Biobank data from more than 230,000 women suggest that depression, socioeconomic hardship and exposure to polluted environments are linked to a significantly higher risk of heart failure in women.
Heart failure happens when the heart becomes too weak or too stiff to pump blood effectively around the body.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes are among the better-known risk factors often targeted in public health campaigns.
Peige Song from China’s Zhejiang University and her team found that living in polluted areas, having poor mental wellbeing, facing socioeconomic deprivation and experiencing chronic inflammatory conditions such as lupus, in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, make women more prone to heart failure.
These risks, however, are often overlooked.
The researchers found that mental wellbeing, environmental exposures, socioeconomic circumstances and reproductive history together contributed almost as much risk for heart failure as all well-known risk factors combined.
The study also found that risk rises with socioeconomic hardship and chronic inflammatory conditions such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, approaching the impact of conventional risk factors.
Song said: “[The study] is a call to redefine prevention in women’s cardiovascular health, integrating biological, psychosocial and structural determinants into a unified, equitable approach.
“One in four heart-failure cases in women could be prevented if all under-recognised risk factors were eliminated, assuming causal relationships.”
While completely eliminating all risks is not realistic, Song said “even partial reductions through better mental health services, social equity policies and environmental regulations could yield significant public health benefits”.
Catherine Pirkle, a women’s health specialist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the US, who was not involved in the study, said: “These calculations show convincingly that under-recognised and female-specific risk factors contribute significantly to heart failure in women, independently of the well-established ones.”
Song said: “It’s important to understand that heart health is influenced by more than just blood pressure or cholesterol.
“Factors like mental wellbeing, reproductive milestones and socioeconomic conditions all matter. Awareness and advocacy for comprehensive, gender-sensitive care are key.”
GSK said its ovarian cancer drug shrank or cleared tumours in more than 60 per cent of patients in an early trial as CCO Luke Miels pushes faster development.
The company said that in an early-stage trial, Mocertatug Rezetecan, known as Mo-Rez, shrank or eliminated tumours in 62 per cent of patients with ovarian cancer after chemotherapy had failed, and in 67 per cent of those with endometrial cancer.
Hesham Abdullah, GSK’s global head of cancer research and development, said: “Treatment of gynaecological cancers remains a major challenge, with a pressing need for new therapies that offer improved response rates.
“With Mo-Rez we now have compelling evidence of a promising clinical profile.”
GSK acquired the Mo-Rez treatment, an antibody-drug conjugate, from China’s Hansoh Pharma in late 2023 and has trialled it in 224 patients around the world, including the UK, over the past year.
Only a few patients needed to stop treatment because of side effects, the most common being nausea.
It is given every three weeks by intravenous infusion, meaning directly into a vein.
Combined with data from a separate intermediate trial in China, the results have given the British drugmaker the confidence to go straight to late-stage trials, with five clinical studies planned globally in the next few months, including on patients in the UK.
Speaking to journalists before the conference, Abdullah described Mo-Rez as a “key asset” in the company’s growing cancer portfolio.
It is expected to be a blockbuster drug, with peak annual sales of more than £2bn, which GSK hopes will help it achieve its 2031 sales target of £40bn.
A few years ago GSK did not have any cancer drugs on the market, but it now has four approved medicines and 13 in clinical development.
Last year, oncology generated nearly £2bn in sales, up 43 per cent from 2024, with sales of its endometrial cancer drug Jemperli rising 89 per cent.
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