A Focus on Important Reproductive Health Care Issues – Cancer, Urinary Incontinence and the Consequences of Pre-Term Birth

The February 2010 issue of Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica highlighted several key reproductive health care issues, including the evaluation of diagnostic tests in gynecological oncology, the management of urinary incontinence, and the public health consequences of pre-term birth. One study by Farah Begum and colleagues assessed the prognostic value of tetranectin in 445 ovarian cancer patients, suggesting that preoperative serum tetranectin could be a useful marker for advanced stage ovarian cancer. Another study by Seija Ala-Nissilä and co-workers reported that the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) procedure was effective for treating recurrent stress urinary incontinence with low complication rates. Additionally, Steinar Hunskaar and Line Welle-Nilsen discussed the low compliance with the pharmacological treatment duloxetine for stress urinary incontinence in Norway. The issue also touched on the importance of sexual health check-ups for homosexual women and the influence of professionals on pain relief decisions during labor. Nils-Halvdan Morken emphasized the need for research into the mechanisms leading to pre-term birth to reduce infant mortality and morbidity. The issue also contained reminders for upcoming conferences and noted that hirsutism is a better marker for hyperandrogenism in PCOS than acne and androgenic alopecia.