Latest news with #NationalInstituteForHealthAndCareExcellence
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hot flush pill gets green light for UK use
Women will be able to access a daily pill for hot flushes during menopause after it was given the green light for UK use. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it is the first regulator in the world to approve elinzanetant, also known as Lynkuet. The treatment, made by Bayer, can be given to women who have vasomotor symptoms, also known as hot flushes, as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT can help relieve most menopause and perimenopause symptoms, including hot flushes. But not all patients want or are able to take hormone treatments. At present elinzanetant is not available on the NHS but the green light from the MHRA means that it can be purchased privately in the UK. It is to be considered by the NHS spending watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Hot flushes and night sweats are one of the most common symptoms of menopause. It is understood that as oestrogen levels decline around menopause, the body's temperature regulation system can be disrupted when certain brain cells become overactive. The new treatment, which is a non-hormonal medication, works by calming these signals in the brain. Clinical trial data showed that the drug was safe and well tolerated and reduced hot flushes compared with a dummy drug, also known as a placebo. You may not have reached #menopause if you're experiencing headaches, night sweats, weight gain, anxiety and depression – but you may be #perimenopausal. Take a look on our website for more information 👉 — Patient (@patient) May 22, 2023 It was also linked to fewer sleep disturbances and women taking it reported a better quality of life compared with those taking the placebo. 'Hot flushes and night sweats associated with menopause can have a significant negative impact on quality of life,' said Julian Beach, the MHRA's interim executive director of healthcare quality and access. 'We are therefore pleased to announce our approval of elinzanetant, which has met the MHRA's standards for safety, quality and effectiveness. 'Elinzanetant offers a non-hormonal alternative for those who may not be able to, or prefer not to, take hormone-based therapies. 'As with all licensed medicines, we will continue to monitor its safety closely as it becomes more widely used.' Women usually go through the menopause when they are aged between 45 and 55, though it can start sooner. During the menopause a woman's periods stop due to lower hormone levels. Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms including anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Get some earplugs – and never remove wax at home: 16 ways to protect your hearing, chosen by audiologists
Hearing loss can make life difficult and lead to social isolation. But with extremely loud devices in our pockets, and earbuds in near-constant use, we are at more risk than ever. How can you take care of your ears to avoid problems? 'People tend to think it's a bit of fun if someone mishears,' says Kevin Munro, a professor of audiology and director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness at the University of Manchester. From a young age it became apparent that Munro could not hear in his right ear, and in recent years he has experienced hearing loss in his left ear and started wearing a hearing aid – 'so I have skin in the game', he says. 'Most of us don't have hearing loss when we are young, but we all need to understand the importance of being able to communicate well and not have hearing difficulty. I think that could get rid of some of the stigma that is associated with hearing loss.' Hearing loss affects 42% of people over the age of 50, increasing to 71% of people over 70, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 'For the majority of people, it is a gradual change over their lifetime,' says Munro. 'What happens is they'll get to the stage where they think everyone is mumbling. So they're blaming everyone else. And then the people they live with say, 'Why have you got the television so loud? And why am I always having to repeat myself?' That's the time to sit up and take notice, because it is affecting all the people you love and spend time with.' One billion young people are at risk from avoidable hearing loss, says Dr Siobhán Brennan, Munro's colleague at the University of Manchester, a lead clinical scientist at Sheffield teaching hospitals and chair of the British Society of Audiology. This is because 'devices are so much better than they used to be in terms of the quality of the sound', she says. 'Back in the 1980s, when we had cassette players, there was a limit to how much you would turn up the volume, because it would be distorted and horrible. These days you can go louder and louder, and the quality is great. So we are finding an increase worldwide in noise-induced hearing loss. 'When I started my career,' says Munro, 'we knew one of the biggest risk factors for hearing loss was damage from noise – but that was usually occupational noise, when there were lots of factories in heavy industry. The concern nowadays is recreational noise and young people listening to music on headphones.' 'Loud noise is one of the most predominant causes of hearing loss in young people,' says Renee Almeida, the adult audiology clinical lead at Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust in London. All of us need to take care when exposed to sounds over 85 decibels (dB): for reference, a lawnmower is 90-95 dB; a concert or club around 110-120 dB. 'The louder it gets, the less time you have to be exposed for to ensure damage.' So it's best to avoid loud noise altogether. This might mean not standing next to the speakers at gigs. 'Everyone has left a concert with some ringing in the ears for a few days,' says Almeida. This, she explains, is because 'the stapedius muscle in the inner ear contracts in order to protect the cochlea – the part of the inner ear essential for hearing. The muscle ends up in spasm, which is why we end up with temporary tinnitus.' When Brennan – who previously trained as a sound engineer – goes to see live music, she always wears earplugs: 'It is important that ear protection fits correctly. They come in different sizes, and you can get custom-made earplugs.' Munro recommends musician's earplugs, which he used himself at a recent Bruce Springsteen gig. 'The ones that have been designed for musicians have a filter in them and it just turns everything down, like lowering the volume on your television a little bit without distorting it.' 'The problem is that everybody has these really loud gadgets in their pockets and the world is a noisy place,' says Dr Jay Jindal, an audiologist and the owner of Planet Audiology, which has clinics in London, Surrey and Kent. 'You could be sensible about how loud it is in your ear in a quiet environment, but as soon as you go into a noisy environment, you inevitably put the volume high without realising that it could be too high for your ears. I spend my life telling people the 50/50 rule – which means that you listen to 50% of the volume on your headphones for 50 minutes, and that seems to be a safe limit for most things.' The World Health Organization (WHO) advises 60% for 60 minutes. 'One of the things that we really notice in audiology,' says Brennan, 'is that people are unaware of the hearing loss they may have – and are missing things without realising. It takes people on average about 10 years between developing hearing difficulties and seeking help.' There are lots of places to take a hearing test, Brennan says, such as the WHO app or the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) site. 'There are three-minute tests that you can do. You don't need a soundproof room; you can do it at home using your own device. They will say either everything's fine, or there may be evidence here of a hearing loss.' That's when you should see a doctor for a more thorough investigation. 'If you went to bed all right, and you wake up and one ear is completely deaf or there is severe hearing loss, you should go to your GP or to a hospital,' says Munro. 'If there is inflammation in your inner ear, then getting steroids into your body as soon as you can is the best way of trying to reduce that.' Otherwise, there is a risk of permanent damage. 'Some people have ear infections more frequently than others,' says Brennan. 'If you are getting them repeatedly, there could be an underlying reason. Go along to your GP, who may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist.' 'Taking good care of the ears is not using cotton buds,' says Almeida. 'Leave the ears to maintain their natural oil.' This can help avoid ear infections, 'because dry skin can easily break, and even a fingernail can cause irritation and infection.' Almeida advocates drying the ears after a shower or swim, 'when the ears are a bit wet, and nobody really likes that sensation – so get a piece of toilet paper or muslin on your little finger and give it a good wipe.' Only go as far in as the finger can go. It is normal for it to come out a bit yellow, she says. 'Beyond that, leave it for nature.' 'Wax in itself is not a bad thing,' says Brennan. 'It is a protective mechanism. It keeps the ears healthy, generally speaking, and it does migrate out by itself. It is one of those phenomena that has a bad reputation, because sometimes it gets stuck.' 'Having wax in the ear doesn't mean that your ear is unhealthy or unhygienic,' adds Jindal. 'Research suggests that wax has an enzyme which can kill bacteria and viruses going into the ear, and it moisturises the skin as well. So wax is actually a more helpful thing than not.' 'Syringing … can cause a lot of problems in the ears,' says Jindal. Almeida explains: 'You can apply too much pressure or too little pressure, hoping that the water is going to pass the wax and flush it out, so it is hit and miss. That's why it is dangerous, because you might have an infection and you don't know about it until it is too late, or you can cause a perforation of the eardrum with the pressure. Microsuction is much more gentle and guided; you can stop at any time.' Brennan notes that there is availability from the NHS for wax removal: 'There are some audiology or ear, nose and throat departments that will offer it. And there are still some GP surgeries that offer it. However, it is certainly not as widespread as it used to be.' Outside the NHS, there is now not much regulation around who can carry out wax removal, so it is worth asking your GP for advice on where to get it done, the experts say. 'Having a hearing aid, you are more likely to be in tune with what is going on in the world,' says Almeida. Hearing aids that are available on the NHS are 'amazing', she says – 'I am very proud to say that.' The technology has improved a great deal, with even AI and 'invisible' models on the market now – although not on the NHS. They are a lot less prone to problems like whistling, says Brennan. Munro says: 'Remember, you need good hearing to be able to communicate well, and hearing aids can address this. If you don't hear well, you're not able to stay socially connected to others. And if you're not socially connected and you can't have good-quality social interactions, this leads to isolation: you get anxious, you get withdrawn, you can be depressed, and that is not good for your health at all. For healthy ageing, you want to be able to remain socially connected.' If your ear feels blocked, olive oil-based ear drops are an option. 'For some people, they work well,' Brennan says. 'But use them in moderation and according to what it says on the packet. Speaking to a GP is a good start because if your ear feels blocked, it may not be wax; it could be an infection, which you're going to want to approach in a different way.' There are times when oil does more harm than good, says Jindal. 'Oil can close the pores of the skin, so the skin stops breathing, and if you already have an existing problem with the skin, then it doesn't go in your favour.' 'Swimming in a pool is OK for most people,' says Jindal. 'If they have ear-related issues, they will benefit from wearing earplugs. There are some over-the-counter earplugs, which are quite cheap. Or they can go to their nearest audiologist and get customised swim plugs made.' For people prone to ear problems, swimming in open water can be more problematic than doing pool lengths, because 'the water is more contaminated rather than regulated'. 'Tinnitus is ringing or buzzing,' says Almeida. 'It is described as a perception of sound, when no external sound is around. Very rarely, it can be caused by changes in blood flow or muscle contractions, but it is ultimately generated by the brain's auditory system. Hearing loss and tinnitus go hand in hand because by lacking hearing, the brain then notices the tinnitus.' It can be related to problems with the jaw, teeth or tense muscles around the neck, Almeida adds. 'The treatment options depend on what we find. If there is a hearing loss, hearing aids are always going to be the first port of call.' A visit to the dentist might also be an idea. Dehydration may be a factor: 'People say, 'When I wake up, the tinnitus is very loud, and the moment I have a glass of water, it's fine.' The ears are filled with liquid, and the whole body dehydrates at nighttime.' Brennan adds that there's some evidence to suggest cognitive behavioural therapy is effective for reducing the impact of tinnitus. 'Your ear controls your hearing and your balance,' says Munro. 'So if something goes wrong with your ear, it might also affect your balance. As we get older, the balance organ in our ear will not work as well as it used to. Your inner ear, where your cochlea is for your hearing and your semicircular canals for your balance, relies on a really good blood supply – but it is where the blood vessels are the smallest in the body, which is why people might end up with a vestibular problem.' If your ears feel blocked or painful when on an aeroplane, 'swallowing something helps, because that creates positive pressure inside the ear', says Jindal. 'Sipping a glass of water or juice, or sucking a sweet, may be helpful. There is a special balloon you can blow up with your nose rather than your mouth, which seems to help. And blowing the nose in general is a good thing.' This article was amended on 25 June 2025 to add the information that 'invisible' and AI-enabled hearing aids are not yet available on the NHS. Also, ear syringing is not banned in the UK as stated in an earlier version, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not recommend it.
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Get some earplugs – and never remove wax at home: 16 ways to protect your hearing, chosen by audiologists
Hearing loss can make life difficult and lead to social isolation. But with extremely loud devices in our pockets, and earbuds in near-constant use, we are at more risk than ever. How can you take care of your ears to avoid problems? 'People tend to think it's a bit of fun if someone mishears,' says Kevin Munro, a professor of audiology and director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness at the University of Manchester. From a young age it became apparent that Munro could not hear in his right ear, and in recent years he has experienced hearing loss in his left ear and started wearing a hearing aid – 'so I have skin in the game', he says. 'Most of us don't have hearing loss when we are young, but we all need to understand the importance of being able to communicate well and not have hearing difficulty. I think that could get rid of some of the stigma that is associated with hearing loss.' Hearing loss affects 42% of people over the age of 50, increasing to 71% of people over 70, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. 'For the majority of people, it is a gradual change over their lifetime,' says Munro. 'What happens is they'll get to the stage where they think everyone is mumbling. So they're blaming everyone else. And then the people they live with say, 'Why have you got the television so loud? And why am I always having to repeat myself?' That's the time to sit up and take notice, because it is affecting all the people you love and spend time with.' One billion young people are at risk from avoidable hearing loss, says Dr Siobhán Brennan, Munro's colleague at the University of Manchester, a lead clinical scientist at Sheffield teaching hospitals and chair of the British Society of Audiology. This is because 'devices are so much better than they used to be in terms of the quality of the sound', she says. 'Back in the 1980s, when we had cassette players, there was a limit to how much you would turn up the volume, because it would be distorted and horrible. These days you can go louder and louder, and the quality is great. So we are finding an increase worldwide in noise-induced hearing loss. 'When I started my career,' says Munro, 'we knew one of the biggest risk factors for hearing loss was damage from noise – but that was usually occupational noise, when there were lots of factories in heavy industry. The concern nowadays is recreational noise and young people listening to music on headphones.' 'Loud noise is one of the most predominant causes of hearing loss in young people,' says Renee Almeida, the adult audiology clinical lead at Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust in London. All of us need to take care when exposed to sounds over 85 decibels (dB): for reference, a lawnmower is 90-95 dB; a concert or club around 110-120 dB. 'The louder it gets, the less time you have to be exposed for to ensure damage.' So it's best to avoid loud noise altogether. This might mean not standing next to the speakers at gigs. 'Everyone has left a concert with some ringing in the ears for a few days,' says Almeida. This, she explains, is because 'the stapedius muscle in the inner ear contracts in order to protect the cochlear – the part of the inner ear essential for hearing. The muscle ends up in spasm, which is why we end up with temporary tinnitus.' When Brennan – who previously trained as a sound engineer – goes to see live music, she always wears earplugs: 'It is important that ear protection fits correctly. They come in different sizes, and you can get custom-made earplugs.' Munro recommends musician's earplugs, which he used himself at a recent Bruce Springsteen gig. 'The ones that have been designed for musicians have a filter in them and it just turns everything down, like lowering the volume on your television a little bit without distorting it.' 'The problem is that everybody has these really loud gadgets in their pockets and the world is a noisy place,' says Dr Jay Jindal, an audiologist and the owner of Planet Audiology, which has clinics in London, Surrey and Kent. 'You could be sensible about how loud it is in your ear in a quiet environment, but as soon as you go into a noisy environment, you inevitably put the volume high without realising that it could be too high for your ears. I spend my life telling people the 50/50 rule – which means that you listen to 50% of the volume on your headphones for 50 minutes, and that seems to be a safe limit for most things.' The World Health Organization (WHO) advises 60% for 60 minutes. 'One of the things that we really notice in audiology,' says Brennan, 'is that people are unaware of the hearing loss they may have – and are missing things without realising. It takes people on average about 10 years between developing hearing difficulties and seeking help.' There are lots of places to take a hearing test, Brennan says, such as the WHO app or the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) site. 'There are three-minute tests that you can do. You don't need a soundproof room; you can do it at home using your own device. They will say either everything's fine, or there may be evidence here of a hearing loss.' That's when you should see a doctor for a more thorough investigation. 'If you went to bed all right, and you wake up and one ear is completely deaf or there is severe hearing loss, you should go to your GP or to a hospital,' says Munro. 'If there is inflammation in your inner ear, then getting steroids into your body as soon as you can is the best way of trying to reduce that.' Otherwise, there is a risk of permanent damage. 'Some people have ear infections more frequently than others,' says Brennan. 'If you are getting them repeatedly, there could be an underlying reason. Go along to your GP, who may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist.' 'Taking good care of the ears is not using cotton buds,' says Almeida. 'Leave the ears to maintain their natural oil.' This can help avoid ear infections, 'because dry skin can easily break, and even a fingernail can cause irritation and infection.' Almeida advocates drying the ears after a shower or swim, 'when the ears are a bit wet, and nobody really likes that sensation – so get a piece of toilet paper or muslin on your little finger and give it a good wipe.' Only go as far in as the finger can go. It is normal for it to come out a bit yellow, she says. 'Beyond that, leave it for nature.' 'Wax in itself is not a bad thing,' says Brennan. 'It is a protective mechanism. It keeps the ears healthy, generally speaking, and it does migrate out by itself. It is one of those phenomena that has a bad reputation, because sometimes it gets stuck.' 'Having wax in the ear doesn't mean that your ear is unhealthy or unhygienic,' adds Jindal. 'Research suggests that wax has an enzyme which can kill bacteria and viruses going into the ear, and it moisturises the skin as well. So wax is actually a more helpful thing than not.' 'Syringing is basically banned in the UK, because it can cause a lot of problems in the ears,' says Jindal. Almeida explains: 'You can apply too much pressure or too little pressure, hoping that the water is going to pass the wax and flush it out, so it is hit and miss. That's why it is dangerous, because you might have an infection and you don't know about it until it is too late, or you can cause a perforation of the eardrum with the pressure. Microsuction is much more gentle and guided; you can stop at any time.' Brennan notes that there is availability from the NHS for wax removal: 'There are some audiology or ear, nose and throat departments that will offer it. And there are still some GP surgeries that offer it. However, it is certainly not as widespread as it used to be.' Outside the NHS, there is now not much regulation around who can carry out wax removal, so it is worth asking your GP for advice on where to get it done, the experts say. 'Having a hearing aid, you are more likely to be in tune with what is going on in the world,' says Almeida. Hearing aids that are available on the NHS are 'amazing', she says – 'I am very proud to say that.' The technology has improved a great deal, with even AI and 'invisible' models on the market now. They are a lot less prone to problems like whistling, says Brennan. Munro says: 'Remember, you need good hearing to be able to communicate well, and hearing aids can address this. If you don't hear well, you're not able to stay socially connected to others. And if you're not socially connected and you can't have good-quality social interactions, this leads to isolation: you get anxious, you get withdrawn, you can be depressed, and that is not good for your health at all. For healthy ageing, you want to be able to remain socially connected.' If your ear feels blocked, olive oil-based ear drops are an option. 'For some people, they work well,' Brennan says. 'But use them in moderation and according to what it says on the packet. Speaking to a GP is a good start because if your ear feels blocked, it may not be wax; it could be an infection, which you're going to want to approach in a different way.' There are times when oil does more harm than good, says Jindal. 'Oil can close the pores of the skin, so the skin stops breathing, and if you already have an existing problem with the skin, then it doesn't go in your favour.' 'Swimming in a pool is OK for most people,' says Jindal. 'If they have ear-related issues, they will benefit from wearing earplugs. There are some over-the-counter earplugs, which are quite cheap. Or they can go to their nearest audiologist and get customised swim plugs made.' For people prone to ear problems, swimming in open water can be more problematic than doing pool lengths, because 'the water is more contaminated rather than regulated'. 'Tinnitus is ringing or buzzing,' says Almeida. 'It is described as a perception of sound, when no external sound is around. Very rarely, it can be caused by changes in blood flow or muscle contractions, but it is ultimately generated by the brain's auditory system. Hearing loss and tinnitus go hand in hand because by lacking hearing, the brain then notices the tinnitus.' It can be related to problems with the jaw, teeth or tense muscles around the neck, Almeida adds. 'The treatment options depend on what we find. If there is a hearing loss, hearing aids are always going to be the first port of call.' A visit to the dentist might also be an idea. Dehydration may be a factor: 'People say, 'When I wake up, the tinnitus is very loud, and the moment I have a glass of water, it's fine.' The ears are filled with liquid, and the whole body dehydrates at nighttime.' Brennan adds that there's some evidence to suggest cognitive behavioural therapy is effective for reducing the impact of tinnitus. 'Your ear controls your hearing and your balance,' says Munro. 'So if something goes wrong with your ear, it might also affect your balance. As we get older, the balance organ in our ear will not work as well as it used to. Your inner ear, where your cochlear is for your hearing and your semicircular canals for your balance, relies on a really good blood supply – but it is where the blood vessels are the smallest in the body, which is why people might end up with a vestibular problem.' If your ears feel blocked or painful when on an aeroplane, 'swallowing something helps, because that creates positive pressure inside the ear', says Jindal. 'Sipping a glass of water or juice, or sucking a sweet, may be helpful. There is a special balloon you can blow up with your nose rather than your mouth, which seems to help. And blowing the nose in general is a good thing.'
Medscape
13-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Fast Five Quiz: Ovarian Cancer Overview
Ovarian cancer poses a significant threat to women's health, often developing quietly and without early symptoms. It is commonly discovered after progression. This late detection, along with resistance to treatment and frequent relapse, contributes to poor outcomes. Although medical and surgical interventions have evolved, survival rates remain low. These challenges highlight the critical importance of early detection methods, precise diagnostic technologies, and individualized care coordinated across medical specialties. How much do you know about ovarian cancer? Test your knowledge with this quick quiz. High-grade serous carcinoma is by far the most prevalent, representing approximately 70%-80% of epithelial ovarian cancer cases. In contrast, the low-grade form of serous carcinoma is much less common (< 5%). Endometrioid and clear cell subtypes are each responsible for about 10% of cases and have known associations with endometriosis. Mucinous carcinomas are uncommon, comprising a small fraction (around 3%) of epithelial ovarian cancers. Learn more about ovarian cancer. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, for patients with inherited mutations linked to a higher chance of developing ovarian cancer (eg, alterations in BRCA1, BRCA2, RAD51C, RAD51D, BRIP1, PALB2 ), the most effective preventive surgical procedure is the bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (which is the removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries). This intervention has been proven to greatly reduce ovarian cancer risk and enhance long-term survival among these high-risk groups. However, when performed in premenopausal women, it induces menopause. Removing one ovary (unilateral oophorectomy) or the uterus (total hysterectomy) does not offer adequate protection against ovarian cancer. Procedures like cervical conization are unrelated to ovarian cancer and are used to manage cervical abnormalities. Learn more about salpingo-oophorectomy. HRT is typically recommended for women who undergo bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy before reaching the natural age of menopause and have not had breast cancer. This type of surgery causes a sudden and early drop in estrogen levels, which can result in bothersome symptoms and increase the risk for long-term health issues such as bone loss or cardiovascular problems. HRT helps ease these effects and maintain health until the typical menopausal age. In contrast, women older than age 50 years are often already in or near menopause, and HRT is not routinely needed unless specific symptoms arise. Patients who have a history of breast cancer must be assessed on a case-by-case basis because HRT might not be safe. Women with a uterus should be offered combined HRT, whereas women without a uterus should be offered estrogen-only HRT. Additionally, women who have not had their ovaries removed do not experience the abrupt hormonal shift that warrants preventive HRT. Learn more about HRT. Individuals who carry a BRCA1 mutation face a significantly elevated risk of developing ovarian cancer, often at a younger age than those with other hereditary mutations. If a woman with a BRCA1 mutation decides not to undergo surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, monitoring for early signs of cancer should begin after age 35 years. This timing aligns with evidence suggesting that BRCA1 -related ovarian cancers tend to occur earlier than those linked to BRCA2 or other genetic variants. Initiating surveillance at age 30 years is generally premature and not part of standard recommendations. For BRCA2 carriers, screening is usually deferred until after age 40 years, whereas those with alterations in genes like RAD51C, RAD51D, BRIP1 , or PALB2 typically begin surveillance after age 45 years. Individuals with Lynch syndrome-related mutations (eg, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 ) are also advised to start at age 35 years if surgery is postponed. Learn more about breast cancer risk factors. Although mucinous tumors can arise directly from the ovary, many are actually secondary cancers that have spread from other organs, most notably the gastrointestinal system, including the colon and appendix. Distinguishing between primary and metastatic mucinous tumors is crucial for proper diagnosis and management. High-grade serous cancers more commonly begin in the epithelium of the fallopian tubes rather than the ovaries. On the other hand, low-grade serous carcinomas are thought to originate in the ovary and are typically diagnosed in younger females, with outcomes generally more favorable than their high-grade counterparts. Germ cell tumors and sex cord-stromal tumors are far more frequent in adolescents and young adults, with most cases occurring before age 30 years and not in women older than 45. Learn more about endometrioid carcinoma.
Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS patients to receive drug that destroys cancer from inside
A so-called 'Trojan Horse' drug that destroys blood cancer from within is set to be rolled out to thousands of NHS patients. The health service will be the first in the world to make the drug available to patients with multiple myeloma – an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. The drug, called belantamab mafadotin, was developed in the UK and has been dubbed a 'Trojan Horse' therapy because it tricks cancer cells into absorbing it before killing them from within. While the cancer is incurable, treatment is designed to extend people's lives by as much as possible while minimising the impact of side effects and on quality of life. In trials, cancer progression was delayed by three years on average in those taking the drug, which was three times longer than the most common treatment. Around 1,500 patients a year in England will benefit after the treatment was approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on Thursday. The drug will be offered to patients whose cancer has progressed or not responded to the first choice of treatment using another drug, lenalidomide. Patients who are prescribed the drug will receive it via an infusion once every three weeks in combination with two other cancer treatments.
