Co-written By Dr Claire Gillvray and Tarang Majmudar, Welbeck Cambridge (2026)

Gynaecological cancers, cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar, pose a significant health risk across all age groups.

While treatment has advanced in recent years, early detection remains the single most crucial factor in improving survival, reducing the need for invasive treatments, and preserving quality of life.

Why Early Detection Matters

When gynaecological cancers are detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 90 per cent.

In contrast, late-stage diagnosis can reduce survival chances by more than half. Early detection truly can mean the difference between life and death.

In England, the introduction of cervical screening in 1998 and HPV vaccination in 2008 has drastically reduced the incidence and mortality associated with cervical cancer.

For endometrial cancer, postmenopausal bleeding is a red flag symptom, prompting timely medical intervention and generally resulting in early diagnosis.

Yet, ovarian and vulval cancers often go unnoticed.

Ovarian cancer’s vague symptoms such as bloating, abdominal discomfort, and appetite changes, are frequently mistaken for benign conditions.

Vulval cancer symptoms like itching or soreness are often overlooked, especially post-menopause.

To improve early detection, a threefold strategy is essential:

1. Screening
2. Symptom recognition
3. Lifestyle modification

1. Screening

Cervical cancer is one of the few gynaecological cancers that is both preventable and detectable through routine screening.

Caused primarily by the human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical cancer rates have dropped significantly due to HPV vaccination and cervical screening programmes.

In 2023, NHS England outlined its goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.

Despite high HPV vaccination coverage (approximately 80 per cent), screening uptake has declined, particularly among younger women, where participation has dropped to 70 per cent.

The upcoming introduction of self-sampling for HPV aims to address this gap and improve participation.

However, no effective population-wide screening methods currently exist for ovarian, uterine, vaginal, or vulvar cancers.

This reality reinforces the importance of self-awareness, recognising symptoms, and attending regular gynaecological check-ups.

         Dr Claire Gillvray

2. Recognising Warning Symptoms

Awareness of key symptoms is vital for early diagnosis:

• Cervical cancer: abnormal vaginal bleeding, post-coital bleeding, unusual discharge
• Ovarian cancer: persistent bloating, pelvic discomfort, urinary urgency, loss of appetite, weight loss
• Uterine cancer: postmenopausal bleeding, irregular or heavy periods
• Vaginal cancer: unusual bleeding or discharge
• Vulvar cancer: itching, pain, lumps, or ulceration

Although many of these symptoms can have benign causes, persistence or change from the norm should always prompt medical review.

Historically, women’s gynaecological symptoms have often been minimised or dismissed.

This has led to diagnostic delays for conditions like endometriosis, which still takes nearly 9 years on average to diagnose.

Young women are particularly vulnerable, with symptoms too often attributed to hormonal changes or stress.

Rather than placing blame, we must push for better education, research funding, and structural support to help clinicians, especially in primary care, identify early warning signs across diverse age groups and health backgrounds.

3. Lifestyle and Risk Reduction

Healthy habits can reduce the risk of several gynaecological conditions:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Eat a balanced, nutrient-rich diet
• Avoid tobacco and limit alcohol
• Get vaccinated for HPV and practice safe sex
• Attend regular health checks
• Manage conditions like diabetes and hypertension
• Seek genetic counselling if there’s a family history of breast, bowel, or gynaecological cancers

Prevention isn’t only about medical care, it’s also about empowering people with the knowledge and tools to take charge of their health.

The Role of Men and Partners in Gynaecological Health

Preventative gynaecology isn’t a “women-only” issue. Men and partners play an essential role in recognising early warning signs, supporting open health conversations, and advocating for equitable care.

Awareness campaigns must include all genders, so that everyone can support informed decisions, challenge stigma, and help normalise seeking help early.

The Rise of FemTech

Preventative gynaecology is being transformed by FemTech with technologies including:

• Menstrual tracking apps
• Wearable hormone monitors
• At-home diagnostics
• AI-powered symptom tools

These innovations give people more insight into their own health and more confidence when seeking care.

Yet, technology alone isn’t enough. It must be paired with systemic changes in how symptoms are recognised and responded to.

Chronic pain, abnormal bleeding, and fatigue are too often normalised, leading to prolonged suffering and delayed diagnoses.

Empowering Through Self-Advocacy

    Tarang Majmudar

A central tenet of preventative gynaecology is self-advocacy. This involves:

• Know your normal—cycles, mood, energy, libido
• Use tech to track symptoms and patterns
• Push for answers when something feels “off”
• Recognise that stress, sleep, and environment all play a role in health

Empowerment also means expecting and demanding respectful, informed care. It’s about being heard, not dismissed.

Prevention in Action: Real Progress

We’re already seeing the benefits of preventative measures:

• The HPV vaccine is reducing cervical cancer rates significantly.
• Early hormone therapy during perimenopause can protect bone, brain, and heart health.
• Growing awareness of reproductive conditions is shortening the diagnostic journey for many.

When supported by data and technology, people can have more meaningful conversations with healthcare providers and make informed choices about their bodies and care.

Looking Forward

For individuals:
Use digital tools to track trends and flag changes. Treat this data as a conversation starter, not a diagnosis.

For clinicians:
Engage with new technologies. Ask proactively about menstrual, hormonal, and sexual health.

For innovators:
Design inclusive, accessible tools for all bodies, all ages, all ethnicities.

For policymakers and researchers:
Support funding for research that focuses on earlier detection, better diagnostics, and equitable access to care.

The future of gynaecological care is not just about reacting to disease, it’s about preventing it, detecting it early, and empowering everyone to take control of their health.

Preventative gynaecology is more than a trend, it’s a necessity.

With education, accessible tools, cultural change, and collaborative action, we can make early detection the norm, not the exception.

Whole genome sequencing could identify unique genetic features to guide treatment for more than 15,000 breast cancer patients each year in the UK, new research suggests.

The technique, which analyses DNA from both patient and tumour to identify genetic changes, helps reveal what drives each cancer and highlights potential treatment targets or resistance.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge used data from almost 2,500 women across England held in the National Genomic Research Library – one of the world’s largest resources of its kind, run by Genomics England.

The data came from the 100,000 Genomes Project and was linked to clinical and mortality records, tracking outcomes over five years.

They found that 27 per cent of breast cancer cases had genetic features that could help guide personalised treatment immediately, either using existing drugs or through clinical trials – equivalent to more than 15,000 women a year in the UK.

Professor Serena Nik-Zainal is from the Department of Genomic Medicine and Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge.

She said: “The UK is a genuine world-leader in its ability to do whole genome sequencing through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.

“Now that we have population-level evidence of how impactful whole-genome sequencing could be, we have the potential to make a difference to thousands of patients’ lives every year, helping tailor their care more precisely, giving more treatment to those who need it and less to those who don’t.”

Among the key findings were HRD (homology-directed repair deficiency) – a DNA repair issue found in 12 per cent of breast cancers – unique mutations that could be targeted with specific drugs, signs of resistance to hormone therapy, and mutational patterns suggesting weaknesses that treatments could exploit.

An additional 15 per cent of cases had features useful for future research, such as problems in other DNA repair pathways, equating to about 8,300 women a year.

The analysis also offered insights into prognosis. In ER+HER2– breast cancers – the most common subtype, accounting for roughly 70 per cent of diagnoses – researchers found strong genetic indicators of tumour aggressiveness.

Major structural DNA changes, APOBEC mutational signatures (a form of DNA damage) and mutations in the cancer gene TP53 were all linked to higher death risk.

These genetic markers proved more predictive than traditional measures such as age, cancer stage or tumour grade.

Using these results, the researchers developed a framework to help clinicians identify which patients need more aggressive treatment and which could safely have less.

Around 7,500 women a year with low-grade tumours could benefit from more intensive therapy.

Professor Matt Brown, chief scientific officer of Genomics England, said: “This promising research further demonstrates the potential of genomics in improving cancer treatment outcomes for many people.

“Rapid advances in genomics are already ushering in the next generation of personalised cancer medicine. Not only can a patient’s genes guide precision treatment decisions that will best serve them, but we could improve how we match people up to clinical trials and help more patients access innovative treatments.

“Research like this highlights the value of the National Genomic Research Library and how understanding our genes can provide a real boost to the way we diagnose and treat disease.

“It’s all thanks to the contribution of participants and NHS partners in the 100,000 Genomes Project – the consented clinical and genomic data opens the door for incredible research opportunities.”

A targeted therapy has improved survival compared with chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer who cannot receive immunotherapy.

The drug, an antibody-drug conjugate (a treatment that delivers chemotherapy directly to cancer cells), slowed tumour progression and extended survival compared with standard chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer – an aggressive form lacking three common receptors found in other breast cancers.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Datroway succeeded in a Phase 3 trial involving patients whose tumours were either metastatic (spread to other parts of the body) or locally recurrent and inoperable. These patients were ineligible for a commonly used immunotherapy.

The companies said Datroway treatment led to a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” improvement in both progression-free survival and overall survival, adding that the benefit in slowing tumour progression was “highly significant.”

They said it was the first time a survival benefit had been seen compared with chemotherapy in people unable to receive immunotherapy.

Ken Takeshita, Daiichi’s global head of research and development, said these “landmark” results have encouraged the companies to continue advancing Datroway programmes for triple-negative breast cancer and other tumour types.

They said full study details will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting and submitted to global regulators “as soon as possible.”

Datroway is one of several antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) being developed by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo in the hope of replacing chemotherapy in many tumour types.

The drug targets a protein called TROP2, which is overexpressed in multiple cancers.

The companies have high expectations for Datroway following the clinical and commercial success of Enhertu, another ADC they co-developed that has helped transform treatment for certain breast cancers.

However, Datroway’s benefits have so far been less clear, leading to a narrower approval in lung cancer and lower commercial expectations in some advanced breast tumours.

In triple-negative tumours, Datroway could face competition from Gilead’s Trodelvy, another antibody-drug conjugate that targets TROP2.

Earlier this year, Gilead said Trodelvy kept tumours in check longer than chemotherapy in a trial also involving people ineligible for immunotherapy, although that study had not yet shown a survival benefit.

According to AstraZeneca, about 70 per cent of people with triple-negative breast cancer cannot receive immunotherapy, leaving chemotherapy as the first-line standard of care.

“We expect today’s results will mark an inflection point in the treatment of these patients who have the poorest prognosis of any type of breast cancer and urgently need better options,” said Susan Galbraith, who leads AstraZeneca’s cancer and blood disease R&D.

AstraZeneca shares rose by over 1 per cent in Monday morning trading, while Daiichi’s climbed by about 4 per cent.