News
Gender inequalities worsen women’s access to cancer prevention and care
Researchers call for a “feminist” agenda for cancer care to eliminate gender inequality
Unequal power dynamics across society have resounding negative impacts on how women interact with cancer prevention, care and treatment, researchers have found.
According to a new Lancet Commission, gender inequality and discrimination influence women’s rights and opportunities to avoid cancer risk factors and impede their ability to seek and receive timely diagnosis and care.
Furthermore, the study found that gender inequalities have resulted in an unpaid caregiver workforce that is predominantly female, risking hindering women’s professional advancement as leaders in cancer research and policymaking, which in turn perpetuates the lack of “women-centred” cancer care.
The Commission calls for a “feminist” agenda for cancer care to eliminate gender inequality where health systems, cancer workforces and research ecosystems are more inclusive and responsive to the needs of women in all their diversities.
Dr Ophira Ginsburg, senior advisor for clinical research at the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Global Health and co-chair of the Commission, said: “The impact of a patriarchal society on women’s experiences of cancer has gone largely unrecognised.
“Globally, women’s health is often focused on reproductive and maternal health, aligned with narrow anti-feminist definitions of women’s value and roles in society, while cancer remains wholly under-represented. Our Commission highlights that gender inequalities significantly impact women’s experiences with cancer.
“To address this, we need cancer to be seen as a priority issue in women’s health, and call for the immediate introduction of a feminist approach to cancer.”
‘Women’s cancers’
A paper, published in The Lancet Global Health, estimated that 5.3 million adults under 70 years old died from cancer in 2020 and that 2.3 million of these cancer deaths were in women.
The study suggested that one and a half million premature cancer deaths in women could be prevented each year through the elimination of exposures to key risk factors or via early detection and diagnosis, while a further 800 000 lives could be saved each year if all women had access to optimal cancer care.
Approximately 1.3 million women of all ages died in 2020 due to four of the major risk factors for cancer – tobacco, alcohol, obesity, and infections, the research also showed.
The burden of cancer in women caused by these four risk factors is widely under-recognised, researchers argue. A study from 2019 found only 19 per cent of women attending breast cancer screening in the UK were aware that alcohol is a major risk factor for breast cancer.
“Discussion about cancer in women often focus on ‘women’s cancers’, such as breast and cervical cancer, but about 300,000 women under 70 die each year from lung cancer, and 160,000 from colorectal cancer: two of the top three causes of cancer death among women, globally,” said Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, deputy branch head of cancer surveillance at IARC and co-chair of the Commission.
“Furthermore, for the last few decades in many high income countries, deaths from lung cancer in women have been higher than deaths from breast cancer.
“The tobacco and alcohol industry target marketing of their products specifically at women, we believe it’s time for governments to counteract these actions with gender-specific policies that increase awareness and reduce exposure to these risk factors.”
Greater scrutiny of the causes and risk factors for cancer in women is needed as they are less well understood compared with cancer risk factors for men, researchers have said.
There is growing evidence to suggest a link between commercial products predominantly used by women, such as certain types of breast implants, skin lighteners and hair relaxers, and an increased risk of cancer.
Dr Verna Vanderpuye, senior consultant at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana and co-chair of the Commission, said: “While men are at higher risk for most cancer types that develop in both sexes, women have approximately the same burden from all cancers combined, with 48 per cent of cancer cases and 44 per cent of cancer deaths worldwide occurring in women.
“Of the three million adults diagnosed with cancer under the age of 50 in 2020, two out of three were women. Cancer is a leading cause of mortality in women and many die in their prime of life, leaving behind an estimated one million children in 2020 alone.
“There are important factors specific to women which contribute to this substantial global burden.
“By addressing these through a feminist approach we believe this will reduce the impact of cancer for all,” she added.
Gender inequalities in society
Globally, women are disadvantaged in terms of education and employment opportunities and are more likely to have fewer financial resources to help cope with cancer-related financial challenges.
An analysis from eight countries in Asia found almost three-quarters of women with cancer reported catastrophic expenditures in the year following their diagnosis, with 30 per cent or more of their annual household income spent on cancer-related expenses such as medical costs and complementary medicine.
“Gender norms mean women are often expected to prioritise the needs of their families at the expense of their own health, sometimes leading to the postponement of seeking healthcare,” explained Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy, professor of epidemiology at Universiti Malaya and Queen’s University Belfast.
Sexism within healthcare systems in the form of unconscious gender biases and discrimination can lead to women receiving sub-optimal care.
Multiple studies have found women with cancer are more likely to report inadequate pain relief and be at greater risk for undertreatment of pain compared to men.
These gender biases can be intensified when the person experiencing cancer is also part of a marginalised ethnic or indigenous group or has a diverse sexual orientation or gender identity.
A recent national survey in the US found African American women of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity reported higher intersectional stigma than any other group.
Gender inequalities in society also impact the cancer workforce as well as patients and caregivers, with women significantly underrepresented as leaders.
Carolyn Taylor, founder and executive director of Global Focus on Cancer, said: “A key, yet often underestimated, part of the oncology workforce is cancer advocates who are mostly women and represent the population most affected by cancer.
“Policy makers, academic and medical institutions must fully recognise the value of patient advocates, and integrate them into all aspects of the cancer care continuum.”
A ‘feminist’ agenda
To counter the negative impact of gender inequality and transform the ways women interact with the cancer health system, the Commission argues for sex and gender to be included in all cancer-related policies and guidelines, making them responsive to the needs and aspirations of all women, whether they be patients, care providers or researchers.
The commissioners call for strategies targeted at increasing women’s awareness of cancer risk factors and symptoms, along with increasing equitable access to early detection and diagnosis of cancer.
“Our Commission exposes the asymmetries of power which influence women’s experiences of cancer and makes the recommendations required to advance an intersectional feminist approach that would reduce the impact of cancer for all,” said co-author Dr Shirin Heidari, president of GENDRO and senior researcher at Gender Centre, The Geneva Graduate Institute.
“In a society where women’s autonomy is infringed, it’s imperative that researchers, policymakers, organisations and healthcare providers do all they can to meet women’s diverse and unique needs during their experiences of cancer care.”
Dr Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Cancer Institute, who was not involved in the Commission, said: “Achieving gender equality in the context of cancer research and care will require broad implementation of the recommendations in The Lancet Commission on women, power, and cancer, including the overarching priority action that sex and gender be included in all cancer-related policies and guidelines so that they are responsive to the needs and aspirations of women in all of their diversities.
“This is something that we can and should all support. Improved outcomes for women translate into benefits for households, communities, societies, and the world.”
Vipoglanstat has reached the halfway point for patient recruitment in a phase 2 endometriosis trial.
Gesynta Pharma said 50 per cent of the target of 190 patients have been randomised in the NOVA trial.
The study is evaluating vipoglanstat, described by the company as a novel, non-hormonal, non-opioid drug candidate for the treatment of endometriosis.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside the uterus, often causing severe pain and, in some cases, infertility.
The condition affects more than 10 per cent of women of reproductive age.
Top-line results from the study are expected in 2027.
The NOVA trial is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 proof-of-concept study evaluating vipoglanstat in women with endometriosis across Europe.
This means patients are assigned to treatment groups by chance, neither participants nor researchers know who receives the drug or placebo during the study, and the results are intended to show whether the treatment has enough evidence to move into later testing.
The trial is assessing the efficacy and safety of two dose levels of vipoglanstat and will provide information for the design of a subsequent phase 3 programme.
Eva Johnsson, chief medical officer and vice president of clinical development at Gesynta Pharma, said:
“Reaching the halfway point in patient recruitment marks a major milestone for our Phase 2 clinical trial in endometriosis. Achieved well ahead of schedule, the rapid progress reflects strong participation from clinical sites and great interest among eligible participants. This momentum highlights the urgent need for better treatments.
“We are now eager to complete enrolment and proceed to the next phase of evaluation.”
Patric Stenberg, chief executive of Gesynta Pharma, said:
“The NOVA trial is a significant advancement in a field with few ongoing clinical trials, and a key step toward establishing a strong foundation for a future Phase 3 programme for vipoglanstat.
“Given the immense medical need, our focus remains on delivering a treatment that is highly effective, safe, and well-tolerated.”
Vipoglanstat is an orally active drug candidate designed to reduce pain and inflammation by targeting mPGES-1, an enzyme that produces prostaglandin E2, a substance linked to inflammation in endometriotic lesions.
A preclinical proof-of-concept study in an advanced endometriosis model found that vipoglanstat significantly reduced pain-related behaviours and endometriotic lesion burden.
Gesynta said previous clinical studies have supported the drug candidate’s safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamic effects in humans. Pharmacodynamic effects refer to how a drug acts in the body.
NOVA stands for the Non-hormonal Option, a Vipoglanstat Assessment trial.
Endometriosis commonly presents with severe period pain, known as dysmenorrhoea, pain between periods, pain during sexual intercourse, gastrointestinal symptoms and infertility.
Current management is typically limited to painkillers, hormonal therapies and surgery.
Despite its prevalence, Gesynta said endometriosis remains a critically underserved area of women’s health.
The company said the disease is significantly underdiagnosed and undertreated, with few new treatment options available to patients.
Approximately 190 patients aged 18 to 45 will receive vipoglanstat or placebo over four menstrual cycles.
The primary objective is to evaluate the effect of vipoglanstat on endometriosis-related pain during non-menstrual days.
Secondary objectives include assessing the effect on menstrual pain, known as dysmenorrhoea, pain during sexual intercourse, known as dyspareunia, use of opioid rescue medication and quality-of-life measures.
Changes in endometriotic lesions, areas of tissue linked to the condition, will also be explored using MRI scans.
Gesynta Pharma said its research on targeting mPGES-1 began at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
The company said a second drug candidate, GS-073, is ready to enter clinical phase 1 for the treatment of chronic inflammatory pain.
Gesynta Pharma’s shareholders include Hadean Ventures, Industrifonden, Innovestor Life Science, Linc, HealthCap, XGen Venture and other specialist investors.
By Wolfgang Hackl, CEO, OncoGenomX Inc., Allschwil, Switzerland
As the FemTech World Awards 2026 winners are revealed, it is a privilege to reflect on the Research Award 2026 sponsored by OncoGenomX Inc., and on the exceptional standard set by this year’s finalists.
On behalf of OncoGenomX Inc., sincere thanks to every applicant and congratulations go to the nominees whose work continues to push women’s health innovation forward.
Research Awards matter because they do more than recognize excellence in a single moment; they help elevate the science, courage, and systems thinking needed to transform women’s health at scale.
This year’s three finalists represented three different but equally important forms of progress. Natural Cycles brought forward one of the largest studies ever conducted on menstrual and ovulatory patterns in perimenopause, analysing nearly one million cycles from more than 197,000 women across over 140 countries.
That project stood out for both its dataset scale and its ability to translate new evidence into a regulated product designed to support women navigating a historically under-researched life stage.
IVI RMA stood out for scientific rigor and clinical precision. Its multicenter, double-blinded, non-selection study on non-mosaic segmental aneuploid embryos offered high-quality evidence on implantation and live birth outcomes, helping move fertility care away from assumption and toward a more evidence-based approach to embryo management and patient counseling.
UN ESCAP’s ‘Femtech in South-East Asia: Unlocking innovation for women’s health’ stood out for a different reason.
Rather than focusing on one product area or one clinical question, it mapped an entire emerging ecosystem.
The report examined the state of femtech across key South-East Asian markets, documented barriers such as financing gaps, stigma, weak ecosystem support, and data challenges, and then translated that research into practical recommendations for governments, investors, founders, and ecosystem builders.
In many ways, all three finalists are winners.
Each project excelled on core evaluation criteria including originality, relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.
Each also offered something genuinely valuable to the future of women’s health: stronger evidence, clearer decision-making, more informed product development, and greater visibility for unmet needs that have gone too long without sufficient attention.
The final decision was therefore a genuine head-to-head race.
The jury supported its discussion with a numerical scoring approach, but it also looked carefully at systems impact: the extent to which a project not only advances one intervention, but improves the wider conditions under which innovation can emerge, scale, and endure.
That perspective mattered in this category, because the strongest research is not always only the most technically impressive; sometimes it is the research that opens doors for many future innovations to follow.
On that basis, the OncoGenomX Jury selected UN ESCAP as the winner of the Research Award.
The decisive factor was not simply that the report was comprehensive, though it was.
It was that the project helps change the environment around innovation itself.
It provides a practical roadmap for strengthening research, improving data governance, expanding founder support, addressing gender bias in investment, scaling innovative finance, and integrating women’s health more fully into policy and development agendas.
That broader enabling effect is what distinguished the UN ESCAP project. Natural Cycles demonstrated outstanding research translation, and IVI RMA demonstrated exceptional clinical rigor.
UN ESCAP, however, showed how research can influence the structures that determine whether many other femtech solutions will ever be funded, adopted, trusted, and scaled. In that sense, its impact reaches beyond one company, one product, or one clinical pathway, and toward a healthier innovation landscape overall.
Warm congratulations again to all finalists and nominees.
And special congratulations to UN ESCAP on receiving the OncoGenomX Research Award at the Femtech World Awards 2026.
The jury’s decision reflects deep respect for all three projects and a shared belief that women’s health advances fastest when excellent science is paired with the power to reshape the systems around it.
News
WEC Chair calls out Health Minister’s delay on banning BBLs and other harmful cosmetic procedures
WEC chair Sarah Owen has criticised delays over a ban on high harm cosmetic procedures, including liquid BBLs.
The Women and Equalities Committee has published a letter from health minister Karin Smyth after the government missed the 18 April deadline to respond to the committee’s report on cosmetic procedures.
The report, published on 18 February, recommended that high harm procedures such as liquid Brazilian butt lifts, known as BBLs, should be banned immediately without further consultation.
MPs said the government is “not moving quickly enough” in introducing a licensing system for non-surgical cosmetic procedures and “should accelerate regulatory action”.
They also warned that “this lack of timely action is fostering complacency in self-regulation” within the industry.
In her letter, Smyth said the Department of Health and Social Care had “taken the decision to first of all focus on introducing legal safeguards for the cosmetic procedures posing the highest risks and I can confirm that we plan to consult on draft regulations in June”.
The letter added:
“Our intention is to issue a formal government response to the WEC report, once our consultation setting out our proposed approach and underpinning legislation is published.
“I acknowledge the concerns around the government’s pace of delivery in this area but, as you will appreciate, this is a complex area of policy and striking the balance between increased patient safety, placing new requirements on businesses and introducing proportionate and enforceable regulation is challenging.
“I recognise that regulation has not kept pace with the expansion of the aesthetics industry and, on that basis, I can assure you that we are committed to implementing licensing in the current parliament.”
Owen, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP, said:
“Further consultation and delay on clamping down on high harm procedures such as liquid BBLs is unacceptable. It allows unscrupulous people to continue to put women at risk and lets down those who have lost loved ones following these practices or who have come to serious harm themselves.
“As WEC’s report warned back in February, procedures that are deemed high risk such as liquid BBLs and liquid breast augmentations, which have already been shown to pose a serious threat to patient safety, should be banned immediately.
“While it is positive to hear a licensing system for non-surgical cosmetic procedures will be introduced within this Parliament, this issue requires faster regulatory progress, particularly in high harm areas, and the Government is not moving quickly enough.
“The Committee previously heard a powerful and shocking testimony from a woman who developed sepsis after having a liquid BBL. Her experience and those of many others provides clear evidence of the need to tackle this evolving wild west.”
A liquid BBL is a non-surgical procedure intended to alter the shape of the buttocks.
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening response to infection that can lead to organ damage if not treated quickly.
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