Oncology & Cancer

Doctors too pap-happy, survey suggests

(HealthDay)—Most primary care physicians advise women to get "Pap" tests for cervical cancer screening more often than clinical guidelines recommend, new research reveals.

Medications

Deal in US suit on pregnancy drug

(AP)—Four sisters who claimed in a lawsuit their breast cancer was caused by synthetic estrogen their mother took during pregnancy in the 1950s have reached a settlement with the drug company Eli Lilly and Co.

Oncology & Cancer

Boston lawsuit claims DES-breast cancer link

(AP) -- Arline MacCormack first heard about DES from her mother when she was 17. Three decades later, MacCormack believes that the drug her mother took to prevent miscarriages caused her to develop breast cancer at age 44.

Medical research

No harm to mice testes from BPA in utero

Bisphenol A (BPA), a common component of plastic used in many consumer products, has recently become infamous -- and banned in some places -- because it can mimic natural estrogen in the body. A new study by Brown University ...

Diethylstilbestrol

Diethylstilbestrol (DES, former BAN stilboestrol) is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was first synthesized in 1938. Human exposure to DES occurred through diverse sources, such as dietary ingestion from supplemented cattle feed and medical treatment for certain conditions, including breast and prostate cancers. From about 1940 to 1970, DES was given to pregnant women in the mistaken belief it would reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and losses. In 1971, DES was shown to cause a rare vaginal tumor in girls and women who had been exposed to this drug in utero. The United States Food and Drug Administration subsequently withdrew DES from use in pregnant women. Follow-up studies have indicated that DES also has the potential to cause a variety of significant adverse medical complications during the lifetime of those exposed. The United States National Cancer Institute recommends that women born to mothers who took DES undergo special medical exams on a regular basis to screen for complications as a result of the drug. Individuals who were exposed to DES during their mothers' pregnancies are commonly referred to as "DES daughters" and "DES sons".

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