AbstractBackgroundUse of long-acting, reversible contraceptives has increased over the past 20?years, but an understanding of how they could influence cancer risk is limited.MethodsWe conducted a nested case-control study among a national cohort of Australian women (n?=?176 601 diagnosed with cancer between 2004 and 2013; 882 999 matched control individuals) to investigate the associations between the levonorgestrel intrauterine system, etonogestrel implants, depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate and cancer risk and compared these results with the oral contraceptive pill. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsLevonorgestrel intrauterine system and etonogestrel implant use was associated with breast cancer risk (OR?=?1.26, 95% CI?=?1.21 to 1.31, and OR?=?1.24, 95% CI?=?1.17 to 1.32, respectively), but depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate was not, except when used for 5 or more years (OR?=?1.23, 95% CI?=?0.95 to 1.59). Reduced risks were seen for levonorgestrel intrauterine system (?1 years of use) in endometrial cancer (OR?=?0.80, 95% CI?=?0.65 to 0.99), ovarian cancer (OR?=?0.71, 95% CI?=?0.57 to 0.88), and cervical cancer (OR?=?0.62, 95% CI?=?0.51 to 0.75); for etonogestrel implant in endometrial cancer (OR?=?0.21, 95% CI?=?0.13 to 0.34) and ovarian cancer (OR?=?0.76, 95% CI?=?0.57 to 1.02); and for depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate in endometrial cancer (OR?=?0.21, 95% CI?=?0.13 to 0.34). Although levonorgestrel intrauterine system, etonogestrel implant and depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate were all associated with increased cancer risk overall, for etonogestrel implant, the risk returned to baseline after cessation, similar to the oral contraceptive pill. We were unable to adjust for all potential confounders, but sensitivity analyses suggested that adjusting for parity, smoking, and obesity would not have materially changed our findings.ConclusionLong-acting, reversible contraceptives have similar cancer associations to the oral contraceptive pill (reduced endometrial and ovarian cancer risks and short-term increased breast cancer risk). This information may be helpful to women and their physicians when discussing contraception options.

Quantifying head and neck lymphedema and fibrosis (HN-LEF) is crucial in the investigation and management of treatment sequelae in head and neck cance...

Nature Medicine, Published online: 06 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41591-024-03334-7

Signet Therapeutics (Signet), a clinical─stage biotech company leveraging organoids and AI to develop first─in─class cancer therapies, announced that the first patient has been dosed in the phase I clinical trial in China for

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania developed a new screening technology, Aptamer─based T Lymphocyte Activity Screening and SEQuencing

New research from Dana─Farber Cancer Institute has found that rare germline genetic abnormalities could increase the risk of childhood cancers such as neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, and osteosarcoma.

Craniopharyngiomas are brain tumors that negatively impact the hormonal function of the nearby pituitary. The tumor location often prevents necessary surgical intervention. Alternative pharmacological therapy requires an in-depth understanding of the tumor molecular characteristics. To address this gap, researchers analyzed gene expression within individual tumor cells. This study reports the molecular features and interactions of tumor and immune cells associated with two craniopharyngioma subtypes that will help identify future targeted therapeutics.

World J Pediatr. 2024 Dec 6. doi: 10.1007/s12519-024-00853-8. Online ahead of print.

Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ahead of Print.

Publication date: Available online 20 November 2024

New research from Dana─Farber Cancer Institute has found that rare germline genetic abnormalities could increase the risk of childhood cancers such as neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, and osteosarcoma.