tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/ovary-4775/articlesOvary – The Conversation2022-04-25T12:13:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1814152022-04-25T12:13:44Z2022-04-25T12:13:44ZOvarian cancer is not a silent killer – recognizing its symptoms could help reduce misdiagnosis and late detection<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458950/original/file-20220420-23-c2b2re.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3332%2C2209&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ovarian cancer is more likely to be cured with early diagnosis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/pelvic-pain-stomachache-concept-hands-of-young-royalty-free-image/1128669705">Pornpak Khunatorn/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ovarian cancer is the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/ovarian/statistics/index.htm">most deadly</a> of gynecologic tumors. Fewer than 40% of those diagnosed with ovarian cancer are cured, and approximately <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer/about/key-statistics.html">12,810 people</a> in the U.S. die from the disease every year. </p>
<p>For the past 25 years, scientists have tried to identify a screening test to detect ovarian cancer in its earliest stages, when the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html">chance of cure is high</a>. Unfortunately, multiple <a href="https://prevention.cancer.gov/major-programs/prostate-lung-colorectal-and-ovarian-cancer-screening-trial">clinical</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01224-6">trials</a> with hundreds of thousands of participants have failed to identify an effective way to screen for ovarian cancer. In fact, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gave ovarian cancer screening a <a href="https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/ovarian-cancer-screening">grade of D</a> in 2018, meaning it recommends against periodic screening because it doesn’t improve survival and can prove harmful to patients.</p>
<p>Because no effective screening test currently exists, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3238%2Farztebl.2011.0635">70% of people with ovarian cancer</a> are diagnosed at advanced stages, when <a href="https://www.medscape.com/answers/255771-194612/what-is-the-prognosis-of-ovarian-cancer">chances of cure</a> are poor. Around 60% to 90% of people with stage one or two cancer that stays around the ovaries and pelvis are disease-free five years after diagnosis, compared with only 10% to 40% of those with stage three or four cancer that has spread through the abdomen and beyond. </p>
<p>But even those with advanced disease have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.224">higher chance</a> of being cured if complete surgical removal is still possible. This makes early diagnosis all the more important for overall survival.</p>
<p>Without screening tests, many physicians wrongly assume that early diagnosis for ovarian cancer isn’t possible. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pn7haLoAAAAJ&hl=en">gynecologic oncologist</a> who treats hundreds of ovarian cancer patients each year, I was frustrated by these late diagnoses, and wondered if better recognition of its symptoms could help clinicians and patients identify ovarian cancer earlier.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Ovarian cancer is often misdiagnosed.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Detectable symptoms</h2>
<p>Ovarian cancer has historically been called a “<a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1017%2Fs0025727300000521">silent killer</a>,” because clinicians thought its symptoms were undetectable. Patients were often diagnosed so late that doctors thought nothing could be done.</p>
<p>But there have been many studies over the past 20 years demonstrating that ovarian cancer does have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000004664">early warning signs</a>. My colleagues and I conducted one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0142(20001115)89:10%3C2068::AID-CNCR6%3E3.0.CO;2-Z">earliest studies</a> in 2000. Our survey of 1,700 people with ovarian cancer found that 95% of patients reported noticeable symptoms three to 12 months before diagnosis. The most common symptoms were pain in their pelvis and abdomen, increased frequency and urge to urinate, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and bloating or abdominal distension. </p>
<p>Importantly, people with both advanced- and early-stage disease reported similar types of symptoms. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ogc.2012.02.007">Subsequent studies</a> from multiple researchers further confirm that patients with even early-stage ovarian cancer experience frequent symptoms.</p>
<p>We also found that providers often misdiagnosed ovarian cancer as another condition. When we asked patients what their doctors told them was the cause of their symptoms, 15% had their symptoms attributed to irritable bowel disease, 12% to stress, 9% to gastritis, 6% to constipation, 6% to depression and 4% to some other cause. Thirty percent were given treatment for a different condition. And 13% were told there was nothing wrong.</p>
<p>One major issue has been distinguishing ovarian cancer symptoms from those of common gastrointestinal and urinary conditions. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22371">another study</a>, my team and I found that patients with ovarian cancer have symptoms with a recent onset and occur more than 50% of the month.</p>
<p>To facilitate early detection of ovarian cancer, my team and I compared the symptoms ovarian cancer patients experienced with those of patients without ovarian cancer. We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22371">developed an index</a> that identified six important symptoms of ovarian cancer: bloating, increased abdominal size, feeling full quickly, difficulty eating, pelvic pain and abdominal pain. Symptoms needed to occur more than 12 times a month but to have lasted for less than a year. </p>
<p>Based on these criteria, our index was able to detect ovarian cancer in 60% to 85% of the patients in our study, a range similar to that achieved through diagnostic blood tests for ovarian cancer.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Person talking to doctor in exam room" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458982/original/file-20220420-24670-fds9t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Recognizing the symptoms of ovarian cancer could lead to earlier diagnosis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-at-a-check-up-royalty-free-image/1368068504">FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Preventing ovarian cancer</h2>
<p>While early detection is important, there are also prevention strategies that can help reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer.</p>
<p>If you have a family history of ovarian cancer, inform your doctor, who may recommend <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet">genetic testing</a> to fully determine your risk, or prophylactic surgery to prevent the development of cancer.</p>
<p>Oral contraceptives, tubal ligation (or surgery to close the fallopian tubes), pregnancy and breastfeeding all <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/patient/ovarian-prevention-pdq">reduce the risk</a> of ovarian cancer. </p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.47343">up to 70%</a> of ovarian cancers may arise from the fallopian tubes. Removing the fallopian tubes at the time of another surgery may be another option to help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. This should be done only if you do not plan on becoming pregnant in the future.</p>
<p>[<em>Get fascinating science, health and technology news.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-fascinating">Sign up for The Conversation’s weekly science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181415/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Goff receives funding from National Institutes of Health, TEAL foundation. Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation and Marsha Rivkin Foundation</span></em></p>There are currently no effective tests to screen for ovarian cancer. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to recognize and prevent it.Barbara Goff, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1214962019-08-08T03:25:57Z2019-08-08T03:25:57ZDon’t count on freezing ovarian tissue to delay menopause or stop your biological clock<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287270/original/file-20190808-144851-1khbn89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The procedure is still experimental and there's so much we don't know about it.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/mG-HdjYiPtE">Bewakoof.com Official</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A company in the United Kingdom is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/04/medical-procedure-delay-menopause">offering women a procedure</a> it says can delay menopause up to 20 years and allow women to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/04/menopause-breakthrough-will-allow-older-women-have-children/">delay having babies</a>.</p>
<p>But don’t get too excited. The costs and risks are likely to outweigh the potential benefits, plus there’s so much we don’t know about the process.</p>
<h2>What is this procedure?</h2>
<p>Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is the technical term for a procedure where a small amount of ovarian tissue is collected, via keyhole surgery, cut into tiny slices and then frozen and stored. </p>
<p>Years later, the tissue slices can be thawed and transplanted back into the woman in the hope they will start to produce hormones and release eggs. </p>
<p>Ovarian tissue freezing is not new. It has been used for many years to help young women who face chemotherapy preserve fertility and allow them to have children if and when they recover from their cancer. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-people-with-cancer-should-have-affordable-options-to-preserve-their-fertility-63457">Young people with cancer should have affordable options to preserve their fertility</a>
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<p>Depending on the type of cancer and its treatment, a woman’s fertility <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey216">may recover</a>, but it could also be temporarily or permanently damaged.</p>
<p>When the procedure was first performed in women, it was not known if the tissue would work when it was transplanted. But <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28365839">a 2017 study reported</a> that while the procedure was still experimental, at least 80 babies had been born after transplantation of thawed ovarian tissue. However, the paper does not state the demographics or ages of the women who had given birth after the procedure.</p>
<h2>So what’s being offered?</h2>
<p>The UK company ProFaM (Protecting Fertility and Menopause) is now offering ovarian tissue freezing to any woman who wants to delay menopause and childbearing. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/04/medical-procedure-delay-menopause">company’s founders claim</a> having “young” ovarian tissue transplanted at the time of natural menopause, which on average happens around age 51, can delay menopause up to 20 years. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287281/original/file-20190808-144851-627ywi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Young women are being offered keyhole surgery to remove ovarian tissue which they can have transplanted at a later date.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/m7zKB91brGo">freestocks.org</a></span>
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<p>This, they say, would delay the onset of pesky menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and health problems such as heart disease and osteoporosis, which are more common after menopause. </p>
<p>They also <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/04/menopause-breakthrough-will-allow-older-women-have-children/">proudly announce</a> this means that menopause no longer has to be a barrier for women who want to build a career before they have children. </p>
<h2>Delaying onset of menopausal symptoms</h2>
<p>While menopausal symptoms can be disturbing, most women find they decrease with time and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378512218306455">don’t stop them</a> from leading <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28532219">productive</a> and enjoyable lives. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chemical-messengers-how-hormones-change-through-menopause-56921">Chemical messengers: how hormones change through menopause</a>
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<p>For women who suffer severe menopausal symptoms, menopause replacement therapy (also known as hormone replacement therapy) can offer relief. Menopause replacement therapy has been used for decades and is <a href="https://www.menopause.org.au/health-info/fact-sheets/what-is-menopausal-hormone-therapy-mht-and-is-it-safe">cost-effective and safe</a>.</p>
<p>There are also <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1471-0528.15153">proven non-pharmacological methods</a> to relieve menopausal symptoms, such as mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy. </p>
<p>If menopausal symptoms are a concern, sticking with methods that are known to be safe would seem a better option than forking out <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/04/medical-procedure-delay-menopause">£7,000-11,000</a> (A$12,500-20,000) for an invasive procedure with unknown risks. </p>
<h2>Delaying onset of health problems</h2>
<p>Risks of disease, such as cancer and heart disease, increase as people age. That goes for both women and men. Having ovarian tissue transplantation won’t change that. </p>
<p>Most women who reach menopause can look forward to many healthy postmenopausal years. The best way to maintain your health and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29161890">reduce your risk of heart disease</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296386">prevent osteoporosis</a> is regular exercise.</p>
<h2>Delaying motherhood</h2>
<p>The promise that freezing ovarian tissue allows women to have babies later in life fails to mention that pregnancy complications increase significantly <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028215002034">as women age</a> and are likely to be even greater for women in their 50s and 60s. </p>
<p>The idea that women prefer to establish a career before they have children is also not supported by evidence. Rather, studies of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30074130">women who freeze their eggs</a> show that not having a partner is the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02646838.2016.1275533">most common reason</a> they haven’t already had children.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287280/original/file-20190808-144843-iln08x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Women most commonly freeze their eggs because they haven’t found the right partner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/omeaHbEFlN4">Alexis Brown</a></span>
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<h2>Too many unknowns</h2>
<p>In addition to the claims of benefit of ovarian tissue freezing not stacking up, there are many other question marks about this procedure. </p>
<p>It is not known, for example, what proportion of tissue slices will survive the thawing and the transplantation processes. Whether the amount of hormone the slices produce is enough to eliminate menopausal symptoms and risk of disease is also unknown. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/40-years-after-the-birth-of-ivf-researchers-push-boundaries-to-preserve-fertility-in-women-men-and-children-99485">40 years after the birth of IVF, researchers push boundaries to preserve fertility in women, men and children</a>
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<p>If indeed the slices do produce high enough hormone levels, women who still have a uterus will continue to have periods, something <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16413977">most women are glad to see the end of</a>. </p>
<p>Presumably, each slice has a limited life span, so women may need to come back for “top-up” slices every few months which would no doubt add to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/04/medical-procedure-delay-menopause">£7,000-11,000</a> (A$12,500-20,000) they have already paid to have the tissue removed and frozen. </p>
<p>So, the idea that a 25-year-old would go through a surgical procedure because she wants to avoid natural menopause a quarter of a century later seems ill advised at best. Rather than a procedure that will improve women’s lives, ovarian tissue freezing for non-medical reasons may leave them a lot poorer financially and exposed to unknown risks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121496/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karin Hammarberg is affiliated with the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Luk Rombauts is a minority shareholder in Monash IVF Group. He is affiliated with the Fertility Society of Australia.
</span></em></p>Don’t get too excited about the prospect of freezing ovarian tissue to postpone menopause. The costs, risks and unknowns are likely to outweigh the potential benefits.Karin Hammarberg, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women's Health, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash UniversityLuk Rombauts, Adjunct clinical professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/628532016-07-22T10:10:30Z2016-07-22T10:10:30ZCan the menopause really be reversed?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131492/original/image-20160721-32602-1ir4vwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=t0Ai6q8Yku1znFAToTE11g&searchterm=fertility%20test&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=287285294">Eskymaks/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scientists in Greece <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23130833-100-menopause-reversal-restores-periods-and-produces-fertile-eggs/">claimed recently</a> to have reversed the menopause. They did this by injecting blood plasma that contains platelets into the ovaries of eight women who had not menstruated for around five months in order to stimulate ovarian regeneration. The scientists later recovered eggs from the ovaries. The eggs were able to mature and reach the stage at which they could be fertilised. Does this mean the end of menopause? At this time, the answer would almost certainly be “no”.</p>
<p>The work was presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Helsinki earlier this month. Importantly, it has not been <a href="http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/peer-review.html">peer-reviewed</a> and there is no independent verification of the findings.</p>
<p>But that’s not the only reason to treat the results as preliminary. This is a small study, which lacked appropriate controls. For example, one might reasonably expect a comparison with a group of perimenopausal women who did not have any treatment. </p>
<p>The fact that this work was first done in women is also potentially worrisome as limited data on safety of the technique was reported. A more traditional approach would have been to test the technique in a laboratory – so-called in vitro testing. Ovarian follicles, the part of the ovary in which the egg develops and which also secretes key hormones that influence the menstrual cycle, can be cultured in the laboratory and so an obvious experiment would have been to grow follicles in the presence of the platelet rich plasma. This could have been followed with testing on animals to prove that the procedure is safe. </p>
<h2>Not an overnight change</h2>
<p>Almost everyone is aware that women are born with a finite number of eggs, and that when this store runs dry, the woman enters menopause. But, like so many concepts in physiology, the devil is in the detail. Menopause is not a sudden overnight change, but a gradual process than can take many years. The first sign is a loss of regularity of ovulation and menstruation. This might last for ten years before the final menstrual period, so a break in cycling is not that uncommon and this is what might have been seen here – a break and then a temporary resumption of menstrual cycles, <em>coinciding</em> with the treatment. </p>
<p>Maybe a more accurate description of this work would have been “possible slight extension of perimenopausal phase”, but of course that is much less interesting than a reversal of menopause. </p>
<h2>Is it even possible?</h2>
<p>The method itself is biological plausible. In 2010, a research group in the US, led by <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22366948">Jonathan Tilley</a> identified cells in the adult ovary that, with the correct stimulation, could produce new ovarian follicles and new eggs. Others have reported that platelet rich plasma can cause <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26622340">stem cells to differentiate</a>. This is presumed to happen because this plasma contains a rich mix of “goodies”, including <a href="http://bitesized.immunology.org/receptors-and-molecules/cytokines/">cytokines</a>, which are small signalling molecules important in cellular communication. </p>
<p>Adding these two pieces of knowledge offers one possible explanation for the findings, but in biology, 1+1 rarely equals 2 and where it does, extensive work is required to prove it. For example, infusing the platelet rich plasma into the ovary would have caused an inflammatory response. Might this have been the cause of the resumption of the menstrual cycles reported? </p>
<p>The danger with reports such as this is that they offer hope which may prove to be false, especially when they enter mainstream media. Menopause is a stressful time, indicating a transition in life, which has physical and emotional impacts. This is amplified in the few women who experience early menopause. In addition, the average age of motherhood is rising steadily. People are looking at options for prolonging reproductive lifespans; options including banking eggs or embryos. Delaying menopause would be an amazing breakthrough, but there is a very long way to go to achieve this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Sturmey has previously received funding from Medical Research Council. </span></em></p>Researchers at a fertility clinic in Athens appear to have reversed the menopause in a small group of women – but will the science stand up to scrutiny?Roger Sturmey, Senior lecturer, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.