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Abortion drug shows promise in reducing cancer risk
Mifepristone, widely used in medical abortions, may also lower breast cancer risk in women more likely to develop the disease.
Doctors and scientists say stigma surrounding mifepristone is deterring pharmaceutical firms from examining its use as a preventive drug, even though three studies suggest it can slow cancer cell growth.
They argue the drug’s link with abortion, along with restrictions in some countries, is blocking research that could have major public health benefits.
Mifepristone is one of two drugs, along with misoprostol, that women in the UK can use to end pregnancies up to 10 weeks.
Women take a mifepristone tablet, wait 24–48 hours and then take misoprostol. It works as a selective progesterone receptor modulator, meaning it blocks progesterone – a hormone known to drive cell growth in breast cancer.
“It is deeply disappointing that the successful application of mifepristone in one area of clinical medicine is hindering more extensive research into other indications that could benefit public health,” the eight co-authors wrote in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health.
“The time is long overdue to give mifepristone the opportunity it deserves to be investigated as a non-surgical option for primary prevention.”
The authors, specialists in reproductive health and cancer, are based in London, Edinburgh, Stockholm and Erbil, Iraq.
Breast cancer kills about 670,000 women worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Mifepristone could prove particularly useful for women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene variants, who currently face limited choices beyond mastectomy or what the authors describe as “low efficacy” drugs.
Three small studies carried out in 2008, 2022 and 2024 showed the drug reduced progesterone’s effect on breast tissue cell growth.
UK cancer charities have joined calls for further research.
Dr Simon Vincent, chief scientific officer at Breast Cancer Now, said: “More risk-reducing treatment options for women with a high risk of developing breast cancer, that also protects their quality of life, are desperately needed. And we need to explore all avenues, including existing drugs, to achieve this.
“So early research into mifepristone is an important step forward and we need further studies to understand if these drugs are safe and effective.”
Dr Marianne Baker, Cancer Research UK’s science engagement manager, pointed to the UK’s 57,900 annual breast cancer cases as evidence that “it’s vital we invest in research exploring new ways to prevent the disease”.
She added: “Cancer develops when cells grow uncontrollably. Early studies showed that mifepristone slowed down cell growth in breast tissue, so it might be useful in delaying or preventing cancer.
“But we need more research to understand whether it’s effective, how it works and who would benefit most from it.”
Prof Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, the lead author and head of the department of women’s and children’s health at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: “Stigma around mifepristone used for abortion is describing part of why mifepristone is not more extensively researched for prevention of breast cancer.
“Taken together, our data support the use of mifepristone for prevention of poor prognosis breast cancer. All studies were randomised controlled trials using a low dose of mifepristone for two or three months.”
Abdominal obesity may lead to worse menopause symptoms, including forgetfulness, irritability and night sweats, a new study suggests.
The findings point to a possible link between fat stored around the waist and more severe midlife symptoms.
Researchers said waist-to-height ratio could help identify women who may benefit from more targeted support.
Dr Monica Christmas is associate medical director for The Menopause Society.
Christmas said: “Unintended weight gain during the menopause transition, especially in the midsection, is one of the most commonly reported complaints, with the most significant gains experienced in the years leading up to the final menstrual period and a couple of years after.
“This not only affects self-image but also imposes negative health risks and, as the study highlights, is associated with higher prevalence and severity of menopause symptoms.”
The study used data from more than 1,100 women who took part in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation.
Abdominal obesity is a build-up of fat around the waist. It often includes visceral fat, which is deep, active fat surrounding internal organs.
This type of fat releases inflammatory proteins and toxic fatty acids that can contribute to insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and a higher risk of some cancers.
Insulin resistance means the body does not respond properly to insulin, the hormone that helps control blood sugar.
The Menopause Society said abdominal obesity is estimated to affect more than 60 per cent of menopausal women.
As oestrogen levels fall during menopause, women tend to store more fat around the waist rather than the hips, even if their overall weight does not change.
The researchers noted that obesity patterns and menopause symptom burden can vary by region, but research into the effect of abdominal obesity on these symptoms remains limited.
They also said earlier studies have mainly looked at single symptoms, rather than how symptoms connect with each other.
In this study, researchers used network analysis, a method that looks at how symptoms are linked, to compare symptom patterns in women with and without abdominal obesity.
They identified abdominal obesity using waist-to-height ratios, which compare waist size with height and can be used as a simple measure of health risk linked to body fat around the middle.
The researchers concluded that women with abdominal obesity had both a higher prevalence and greater severity of a range of symptoms, as well as a distinct symptom network structure.
In particular, women with abdominal obesity reported a higher prevalence and greater severity of dizziness, hot flashes and night sweats than women without abdominal obesity.
Sleep disturbances and palpitations were also reported more often in women with abdominal obesity. Palpitations are feelings of a fast, fluttering or pounding heartbeat.
The researchers said assessment of abdominal obesity using waist-to-height ratios may help stratify women who are likely to benefit from targeted, network-based interventions rather than isolated symptom management.
Christmas said: “Educating women early about healthy lifestyle interventions to prevent midlife weight gain is key to improving mental and physical well-being during a tumultuous time frame.”
Perimenopause may offer a key window to spot heart disease risk earlier, with women in the transition twice as likely to have low heart health scores, new research suggests.
The findings suggest the transition to menopause could be an important time to reassess risk and prompt lifestyle changes.
Garima Arora is senior author of the study and professor of medicine in the division of cardiovascular disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Arora said: “Mid-life women should think of the perimenopausal period as a ‘window of opportunity.’
They should be proactive and not wait until they reach menopause to start checking their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
“Women should talk with their health care team about their reproductive status and any changes they are experiencing. It may be the perfect time to get a baseline for their heart health.”
The analysis included 9,248 women aged 18 to 80 who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2020.
Researchers used Life’s Essential 8, a heart health score developed by the American Heart Association. It measures diet, physical activity, tobacco use, sleep, blood pressure, cholesterol, body weight and blood sugar on a 100-point scale.
Median scores fell as women moved through reproductive stages, from 73.3 out of 100 in premenopausal women to 69.1 in perimenopausal women and 63.9 in postmenopausal women.
Among the individual Life’s Essential 8 measures, diet consistently had the lowest scores and continued to decline across all reproductive stages.
After accounting for age, perimenopausal women were twice as likely to have a low overall score as premenopausal women.
They were also 76 per cent more likely to have a low cholesterol score and 83 per cent more likely to have a low blood sugar score.
The researchers said fluctuations in oestrogen levels during perimenopause may contribute to lower cardiovascular health because they may affect cholesterol, insulin resistance, blood pressure and weight management.
Insulin resistance means the body does not respond properly to insulin, the hormone that helps control blood sugar.
Sleep duration scores remained high across all reproductive stages, despite perimenopausal women reporting difficulty sleeping, suggesting sleep quality may be more affected than sleep length.
Amrita Nayak, lead author of the study and research fellow in the division of cardiovascular disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the findings highlight a point where risk may begin to rise.
She said: “Our analysis highlights that perimenopause, women’s reproductive transition period to menopause, is the critical time when the increase in cardiovascular risk seems magnified.
“When we compared women’s LE8 scores to the premenopausal baseline, the perimenopausal group was the first to show a significant jump in the odds of having low heart health.”
Arora added that nutrition could be an important area for early intervention.
“Nutrition can be a central factor for early and proactive intervention.
“Focusing on heart-healthy habits early, especially getting regular exercise and following a healthy eating plan like the DASH diet with a focus on lowering salt can help improve cardiovascular health for perimenopausal women in the years to come.”
Stacey E. Rosen, volunteer president of the American Heart Association, who was not involved in the study, said the findings underline the need to consider women-specific risk factors across life stages.
“This research highlights yet another aspect of the unique factors that increase a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease throughout the stages of her lifespan.
“Significant health changes during pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause make it particularly important to pay close attention to increases in health risk factors during those times.
“I encourage women to talk with their primary care and specialty health care teams to learn about early detection and modification of traditional and ‘female-specific’ risk factors.
“Women can take proven steps to improve their cardiovascular health at all ages.”
The researchers said the next step is to follow women over several years to track hormone levels and heart health, which may help clarify the long-term impact of perimenopause and how lifestyle changes could reduce risk.
The Femtech World Awards is proud to reveal the shortlist for Research Project of the Year as part of the third annual global celebration of innovation, impact and leadership across women’s health.
From fertility science and perimenopause research to regional ecosystem analysis, the shortlisted projects reflect the breadth and growing influence of femtech research worldwide.
The category is sponsored by OncoGenomX, with the winner to be selected by a representative from the organisation.
OncoGenomX is dedicated to offering solutions and providing comprehensive support services that empower Drug Developers, Clinical Researchers, Oncologists,NextGenSeq Diagnostics Laboratories, NextGenSeq Service Organisations, Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics Companies to achieve their ambitious goals
The shortlisted entries for Research Project of the Year are:
Women’s health remains significantly underserved in South-East Asia, with persistent gaps in access, awareness, and quality of care carrying substantial social and economic costs.
This report examines the femtech landscape in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, highlighting market trends, emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, and the evolving support ecosystem.
It identifies key challenges facing femtech founders, including limited access to finance, low awareness and persistent stigma, marketing constraints linked to content moderation, and gaps in tailored ecosystem support.
Led by Stephanie Willson, MD, of the IVI RMA Global Research Alliance, the study explored whether embryos that show certain chromosome abnormalities during genetic testing may still have the potential to result in a healthy pregnancy and live birth.
The research analysed more than 7,600 frozen embryo transfers and found that some embryos previously considered unlikely to succeed were still capable of leading to successful pregnancies, although at lower rates than embryos without abnormalities.
The findings could help fertility clinics and patients make more informed decisions during IVF treatment, particularly in cases where there are limited embryos available.
Rather than automatically discarding these embryos, the research supports a more evidence-based and personalised approach to fertility care.
For many women, perimenopause can feel confusing and unpredictable, with limited research explaining what is happening in their bodies.
Natural Cycles set out to change that by leading one of the largest studies ever conducted on menstrual and ovulatory patterns, uncovering new insights into how ovulation behaves as women approach menopause.
Conducted in collaboration with researchers from George Washington University, Seattle Clinical Research Center, Gennev and the University of California San Diego, the study analysed nearly one million menstrual cycles from more than 197,000 women aged 18–52 across more than 140 countries.
The scale of this dataset made it possible to explore menstrual patterns and ovulation in far greater detail than has traditionally been possible in women’s health research.
The Femtech World Awards celebrates the innovators, researchers and organisations driving meaningful progress in women’s health.
What happens next
Winners across all categories will be revealed during the virtual ceremony on June 19, with winners receiving a trophy and an interview with a Femtech World journalist.
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