News
Femtech versus ovarian cancer – an update
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women, with around 7,500 new cases per day.
According to Cancer Research UK statistics, ovarian cancer survival is improving, having almost doubled in the last 40 years. In the 1970s, less than a fifth of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, now it’s more than a third.
However, with a range of non-specific symptoms, including feeling full quickly, bloating and stomach pain, it can be hard to diagnose.
In some cases, it can also cause unexplained tiredness or weight loss, or changes in your bowel habit especially if this starts after the age of 50.
However, as technology is constantly evolving to help us detect, treat and cure more diseases than ever before, can femtech helping to continue the fight against ovarian cancer?
Femtech World reports.
Screening
Recent research has led scientists to believe that the cervical screening programme could also be used to screen for both ovarian and breast cancers.
Experts say they may have found tell-tale signatures in these neck-of-the-womb cells linked to other cancers, although further research is needed.
Cells that turn cancerous often show distinctive early changes at the molecular level.
And researchers believe they have found some in smear-test samples that could help identify women at higher risk of specific other cancers, not just of the cervix.
Dr Julie Sharp, from Cancer Research UK, said: “Screening for cervical cancer is already an invaluable tool, so it’s interesting to see if cell samples taken through screening could be used in future to detect other cancers.
“However, we need further research to see how accurate this method is at detecting women with ovarian and breast cancer.
“Like the authors of this research, we look forward to seeing larger trials over longer periods to establish whether cervical cells could diagnose other cancers at an earlier stage.”
The work was funded by The Eve Appeal research charity that hopes to drive improved treatments for gynecological cancers.
Early detection
When diagnosed at its earliest stage, almost all women with ovarian cancer will survive their disease for one year or more, compared with slightly more than one in two people when the disease is diagnosed at the latest stage – highlighting just how important early detection is.
Israeli femtech start-up GinaLife is developing a platform of biomarker strategies, supported by artificial intelligence and data science, for the early detection of problems in women’s health.
It was set up by research scientist Inbal Zafir-Lavie, after her 38-year-old sister died from colorectal cancer, which, due to her young age, remained undiagnosed until it was too late.
GinaLife is currently developing a test that can analyse vaginal fluids, using artificial intelligence and data science to search for specific cancer biomarkers. While it is being tested at first in-clinic, the company envisions one day it will be available for home or remote use, increasing accessibility and potentially saving more lives.
In another early detection breakthrough, Boston-based start-up AOA is developing the first non-invasive ovarian cancer diagnostic liquid biopsy test, which could save the lives of half the women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
That’s because, by the time they are diagnosed, in many cases the cancer has already spread.
AOA’s Akrivis GD is a liquid biopsy test that shows promising results in the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer through analysis of tumour marker gangliosides, which can therefore lead to earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment.
Research
University of Arizona researchers have developed a new device to help learn more about ovarian cancer, as well as supporting earlier diagnosis.
The university’s BIO5 Institute Director Jennifer Barton has developed a high-resolution falloposcope, which has a diameter of only 0.8 mm, small enough to image the fallopian tubes – narrow ducts that connect the uterus to the ovaries – and search for signs of early-stage cancer.
Since September last year, human trial, Dr John Heusinkveld has been using the device to image the fallopian tubes of volunteers who are already having their tubes removed for non-cancer reasons. This will allow researchers not only to test the effectiveness of the device, but also to start establishing a baseline of what “normal” fallopian tubes look like.
Researchers believe ovarian cancer usually starts in the fallopian tubes, and many medical professionals recommend that at-risk women have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.
However, the procedure pushes women into surgically induced menopause, with side effects including hot flushes, mood swings, and higher risk of heart and bone disease
Barton cited one example of a study in which 122 patients who were known to carry genes that increased their risk for cancer had their fallopian tubes removed as a precaution. Analysis of the tubes later showed that only seven of the women were in the process of developing cancer.
The women’s digital health market is set to reach US$5.28bn in 2026, up from US$4.36bn in 2025, according to a new report.
That would represent annual growth of 20.9 per cent, driven by factors including greater smartphone use among women, wider uptake of telehealth and a stronger focus on preventive care.
The report said the market could reach US$11.47bn by 2030, with projected annual growth of 21.4 per cent over the forecast period.
It also pointed to rising awareness of gender-specific health needs, expansion among digital health start-ups, growing demand for personalised healthcare, investment in femtech innovation and the spread of AI-enabled diagnostics.
Wearables linked to health apps and wider use of remote monitoring tools are also expected to play a larger role, as companies focus on more preventive and joined-up care.
Smartphone use was highlighted as a major driver because mobile apps are increasingly being used for women’s health services, from menstrual cycle tracking to pregnancy support.
The report cited Eurostat data showing that in 2023, 89 per cent of EU residents aged 16 to 74 in urban areas accessed the internet via smartphones.
The report also said companies in the sector are developing new technology aimed at improving access to more personalised healthcare.
One example it gave was a 2024 collaboration between Algorand and the Self-Employed Women’s Association to launch a digital health passport for women in India’s informal economy using blockchain technology.
Recent mergers and acquisitions were also noted. In March 2023, Maven Clinic acquired Naytal to expand its services in the UK and Europe.
North America was identified as the largest market in 2025, while Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region.
Companies named as key players included Flo Health Inc, Natural Cycles, Elvie, Bellabeat, Clue by Biowink, MobileODT Ltd., Glow, Veera Health, Biowink GmbH, Ava AG, Hims & Hers Health, Inc., The Women’s Wellness Centre, Elara Health, myGynaeDoc, Maven Clinic, Kindbody, Allara Health, Tia and Hera Med Ltd.
Simultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate-related heat may be worsening fertility harms across humans and wildlife, research suggests.
The review of scientific literature looks at how endocrine-disrupting chemicals, often found in plastic, together with climate-related effects such as heat stress, are each linked to lower fertility and fecundity, meaning the ability to reproduce, across species including humans, wildlife and invertebrates.
Though the reproductive harms of each issue in isolation are well studied, there is little research on what happens when living organisms are exposed to both.
“Together, the two issues are likely to pose a greater threat to fertility, and the additive effect is “alarming”, said Susanne Brander, a study lead author and courtesy faculty at Oregon State University.
“You’re not just getting exposed to one, but two, stressors at the same time that both may affect your fertility, and in turn the overall impact is going to be a bit worse,” Brander said.
The paper looked at 177 studies.
Shanna Swan, a co-author on the new paper, co-produced a 2017 study that found sperm levels among men in western countries had fallen by more than 50 per cent over four decades. Other research has suggested human fertility has been declining at a similar rate.
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has previously said the world was approaching a “low-fertility future”, with more than three quarters of countries below replacement rate by 2050.
The new paper’s authors focused on the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and substances, including microplastics, bisphenol, phthalates and PFAS.
These are thought to cause a range of serious reproductive problems, disrupt hormones and be a potential driver of falling fertility.
Brander said the harms linked to these chemicals are often similar across organisms, from invertebrates to humans.
Phthalates, for example, have been linked to altered sperm shape in invertebrates, spermatogenesis in rodents, meaning sperm production, and reduced sperm counts in humans.
PFAS are also thought to affect sperm quality, and both have been linked to hormone disruption.
The chemicals are widespread in consumer goods, so people are often regularly exposed.
Meanwhile, previous research has shown how rising temperatures, lower oxygen levels and heat stress, among other effects linked to climate change, may also worsen infertility.
Heat stress has been found to affect human hormones, and is linked to spermatogenesis in rodents and bulls.
Research shows temperature also plays a role in sex determination in fish, reptiles and amphibians.
The species has evolved to choose which sex it produces in part based on temperature, and the heating planet can “push it too far in one direction or the other, which overrides that evolutionary benefit”, Brander said.
Similarly, many endocrine disruptors may alter environmental sex determination.
The study set out some of the overlapping effects of chemical exposure and climate change across taxonomic groups, from invertebrates to humans.
In birds, for example, exposure to increased temperature, PFAS, organochlorines and pyrethroids may each individually cause abnormal sperm, increased fledgling mortality, abnormal testes and population decline.
“What happens if they’re exposed to more than one of those stressors at the same time? There has been little exploration of that question.
“Even if there have not been a lot of studies looking at these simultaneously, if you have two different factors that both cause the same adverse effect, then there’s a likelihood that they are going to be additive,” Brander said.
Katie Pelch, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council nonprofit, who was not part of the study, said the authors had reviewed high-quality science.
She said she wanted to see more examples of the overlap in impacts, but agreed with the overall premise.
“It is likely [multiple stressors] would have an additive effect, at very least, even if they have different mechanisms of harm,” Pelch added.
The solution to the systemic problems would involve tackling climate change and reducing the use of toxic chemicals.
The study cites the global reduction in the use of DDT and PCBs achieved under the Stockholm Convention as an example of an effective measure, but Brander said much more is needed.
“There is enough evidence in both areas to act to reduce our impact on the planet,” she said.
Home blood pressure checks after hypertensive pregnancy could cut the risk of heart attack, stroke and potentially early death, research suggests.
Women who regularly monitored their blood pressure in the weeks after giving birth, and had doctors tailor their medication if needed, had better functioning arteries nine months later than those who received routine care.
When the medication was adjusted to account for blood pressure changes, the women ended up with less stiff arteries, an effect researchers estimated could reduce the future risk of heart attack or stroke by 10 per cent.
Paul Leeson, professor of cardiovascular medicine who led the study, said the findings suggested that the weeks after birth provided a “powerful and often overlooked opportunity” to protect women’s future health.
“By simply monitoring blood pressure at home, new mothers with hypertensive pregnancies can protect their bodies from future damage,” he said.
High blood pressure, in the form of gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia, where there are signs of organ damage, affects 5 to 10 per cent of pregnant women.
The condition can damage the mother’s organs and endanger the baby’s life.
Beyond the immediate threat to mother and baby, hypertension in pregnancy can raise the risk of long-term problems, with women three times more likely to develop high blood pressure and twice as likely to have heart disease later in life.
The Oxford team recruited 220 women who developed hypertension in pregnancy. All were on blood pressure medication but were due to reduce their dosage and eventually stop taking the drugs.
In the study, 108 women had standard care in which their medication was reduced based on a few blood pressure checks in the eight weeks after giving birth.
The remaining 112 women used a monitor to check their blood pressure at home each day.
They entered the readings into an app shared with doctors who, if needed, changed their medication day to day, with the aim of giving them better control of their blood pressure.
The new approach led to much better control of the women’s blood pressure, and in tests six to nine months later the women had less stiff arteries.
Stiff arteries are less effective at expanding and contracting, which can drive high blood pressure and ultimately the formation of clots that can block blood vessels and cause heart attacks and strokes.
Trials are now under way to find effective ways of rolling out blood pressure monitoring to women after hypertensive pregnancies. One option is for specialist NHS clinics to deliver the care.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the work, said the results highlighted a crucial window after birth when paying close attention to blood pressure could help protect women’s heart health for years to come.
“We now look forward to seeing results from larger studies with longer follow-up to see how this might save women’s lives,” she said.
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