Injectable Contraceptives May Increase Breast Cancer Risk In Younger Women
The first large-scale U.S.-based study to evaluate the link between an injectable form of progestin-only birth control and breast cancer risk in young women has found that recent use of a year or more doubles the risk. The results of the study, led by breast cancer epidemiologist Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, are published online ahead of the April 15 print issue of Cancer Research. While the contraceptive, called depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate, or DMPA, contains the same kind of progestin as the menopausal hormone-therapy regimen found by a Women's Health Initiative clinical trial to increase breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women, few studies have evaluated the link between DMPA use and breast cancer risk in younger women.
Novel Method To Combat Malaria Drug Resistance
Researchers from the University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health developed a "gene chip" to contribute to the identification of malaria drug resistance, an effort that will allow for real-time response in modified treatment strategies for this devastating disease. The new discovery is described in a paper appearing in the latest early online edition of the journal Science. The team of researchers includes Notre Dame's Michael Ferdig, associate professor of biological sciences and doctoral student Becky Miller along with John Tan, managing director of the Genomics Core Facility, in collaboration with Tim Anderson of Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Francois Nosten, M.
Indian Mothers In Canada More Likely To Have Male Offspring
According to a new study published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), mothers who were born in India, but now live in Canada, are considerably more likely to give birth to boys as their second or third births than Canadian women. Dr. Joel Ray of the St. Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto remarks: "Our findings raise questions about why there are more male liveborns than female liveborns among Indian couples who have had two or more previous babies." In a male:female ratio study, researchers from St.