Contraception News and Research

Latest Contraception News and Research

In Trump’s first year, anti-abortion forces make strides despite setbacks

As a candidate, President Donald Trump promised abortion opponents four specific actions to "advance the rights of unborn children and their mothers."

23 Jan 2018

Marijuana use does not lower probability of conception, study shows

Marijuana use--by either men or women--does not appear to lower a couple's chances of getting pregnant, according to a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers.

22 Jan 2018

FDA grants approval for first drug to treat inherited breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Lynparza (olaparib tablets) to include the treatment of patients with certain types of breast cancer that have spread (metastasized) and whose tumors have a specific inherited (germline) genetic mutation, making it the first drug in its class (PARP inhibitor) approved to treat breast cancer, and it is the first time any drug has been approved to treat certain patients with metastatic breast cancer who have a "BRCA" gene mutation.

15 Jan 2018

U.S. FDA approves first drug for patients with germline BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer

AstraZeneca and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved LYNPARZA (olaparib) for use in patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer who have been previously treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant or metastatic setting.

12 Jan 2018

Women who conceive while using IUD more likely to have adverse perinatal outcomes

Women who conceive while using an intrauterine contraceptive device have a greater risk of preterm delivery, low birth weight babies, bacterial infections, or losing a fetus, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Soroka University Medical Center.

8 Jan 2018

Popular contraceptive shot may raise risk of HIV infection

Transitioning away from a popular contraceptive shot known as DMPA could help protect women in Sub-Saharan Africa and other high-risk regions from becoming infected with HIV, according to a research review published in the Endocrine Society's journal Endocrine Reviews.

4 Jan 2018

Study finds under-age marriage for women as marker of multiple vulnerabilities

A new study of four South Asian countries reveals complex associations between early marriage and women's education, health and nutrition that go beyond the impacts of early childbearing.

11 Dec 2017

Cancer risk with birth control pills emerges again in latest study

A large published study that was reported in the journal New England Journal of Medicine, showed that there is a small but significant risk of breast cancer associated with regular use of hormonal birth control pills.

10 Dec 2017

Statisticians estimate modern contraceptive prevalence in world’s poorest nations

Statisticians Leontine Alkema, Niamh Cahill and Chuchu Wei at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with others, today released new estimates and projections of modern contraceptive prevalence and other family planning outcomes for the 69 poorest countries of the world.

5 Dec 2017

1 in 10 medical products found to be substandard or falsified in low- and middle-income countries

An estimated 1 in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, according to new research from the World Health Organization.

5 Dec 2017

FDA grants approval to first biosimilar for treatment of patients with breast, stomach cancers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ogivri (trastuzumab-dkst) as a biosimilar to Herceptin (trastuzumab) for the treatment of patients with breast or metastatic stomach cancer (gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma) whose tumors overexpress the HER2 gene (HER2+).

4 Dec 2017

New dual-purpose drug delivery device to be developed for HIV and pregnancy prevention

In sub-Saharan Africa, women have among the highest fertility rates in the world. Unfortunately, they are also disproportionately at risk for HIV, a leading cause of illness and death among women of reproductive age.

30 Nov 2017

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) may lower risk of cervical cancer

According to a recent study, intrauterine devices (IUDs) used by women for contraception might lower the risk of getting cervix cancer compared to women who do not use this form of contraception. The review titled, “Intrauterine Device Use and Cervical Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” from the Keck School of Medicine of USC appeared in the online November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

8 Nov 2017

IUD use linked to dramatic decrease in incidence of cervical cancer

Considered a safe and highly effective contraception method, intrauterine devices (IUDs) may also be quietly offering protection against the third-most common cancer in women worldwide.

8 Nov 2017

FDA grants approval to first treatment for rare blood cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approval of Zelboraf (vemurafenib) to include the treatment of certain adult patients with Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD), a rare cancer of the blood.

7 Nov 2017

Study finds link between increased cardiovascular diseases and teen childbirth

A new study published in the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Open Access Journal — Journal of the American Heart Association — has suggested an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease in women who became mothers for the first time in their teenage years, when compared to older mothers.

2 Nov 2017