Obstetrics and gynaecology

Maintenance therapy with olaparib, given in the newer tablet formulation, significantly improves progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation, phase III trial data show.

Women with hepatitis B virus infection prior to becoming pregnant are significantly more likely to have a preterm birth than those without HBV, shows an analysis of a Chinese population-based cohort.

Women with a juvenile idiopathic arthritis diagnosis are at increased risk for both maternal and infant complications during pregnancy and birth, show data from a nationwide Swedish study.

Adverse birth outcomes, specifically preterm births and infants with low birth weight, are more likely among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors than women without cancer, a US study shows.

Two independent studies shed light on the effects of pregnancy during cancer, one finding that pregnancy does not adversely affect the survival of women with breast cancer and the other showing an association between maternal cancer and an increased risk for stillbirth and neonatal mortality.

Predicting adverse motor and cognitive outcomes in preterm neonates with white matter injury requires the mapping of both lesion volume and location, suggests a magnetic resonance imaging study.

The US Preventive Services Task Force has reaffirmed its 2009 recommendation that women who are planning or capable of pregnancy should take a daily supplement containing 400 µg to 800 µg of folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects.

Babies born with low levels of vitamin D may be at increased risk for multiple sclerosis in later life, suggests research.

Pregnant women with high iron stores may be at an increased risk for developing gestational diabetes, a study suggests.

Women with gestational diabetes have a subsequent increased risk for adverse macrovascular outcomes, even if they never develop type 2 diabetes, report researchers.

ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial results support the use of maintenance treatment with niraparib for platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer, in both patients with and without a germline BRCA mutation.

Research suggests that women with gestational diabetes who have elevated glycated haemoglobin levels in the third trimester of pregnancy should be closely monitored for the development of diabetes after delivery.

Pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B virus infection can experience flares in HBV DNA and serum alanine aminotransferase levels during pregnancy and postpartum, research shows.

Two articles present information to support upcoming and potential changes to cervical cancer screening guidelines.

Dutch researchers have assessed the ability of 12 published models to predict gestational diabetes in a large cohort of women.

Overnight closed-loop insulin delivery maintains tighter control of glucose levels than sensor-augmented pump delivery in pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes, shows a randomised crossover trial.

The risk of aortic dissection or rupture is elevated fourfold during pregnancy and the postpartum period, results of a large, population-based study show.

Women who receive in vitro fertilisation treatment do not have a higher risk of developing breast cancer in the long term versus those who receive non-IVF therapy and the general population, say Dutch researchers.

Two studies have independently identified quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen as a marker to identify pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B virus infection whose infants are at high-risk of infection despite immunoprophylaxis.

Clarification of the dose and duration at which to give recombinant human erythropoietin to preterm infants may be key to realising its neuroprotective properties.