#1 Cost efficient IVF service and education in U.S. Outpatient based IVF. Complete facilities include ultrasound suite,endocrine and andrology labs, and all IVF facilities. Located at new outpatient therapy center offering the latest in laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. Accomodations for visitors are nearby, safe, and inexpensive.

Is Weight a contributing Risk Factor for Breast Cancer
Title:Dual effects of weight and weight gain on breast cancer risk
Author:Z. Huang et al.
Address:Harvard, Massachusetts
Source:The Journal of the American Medical Association 17: 1407-1411 (November) 1997
Summary:This study attempts to examine body mass index (BMI) at the age of 18 years and at mid life and associate the adult weight change in relation to breast cancer incidence and mortality. The incidence of breast cancer measured from 1,203,498 person- years were documented as 2517 cases (60%post menopausal). A higher current BMI was associated with lower breast cancer risk before menopause and was weakly associated with breast cancer incidence after menopause. A strong relationship was discovered between postmenopausal women who had hever used hormone replacement and BMI, (relative risk=1.59 for BMI>31 kg/m2 vs less than 20kg/m2; 95%confidence interval, 1.09-2.32;P for trend .001). A higher BMI at age 18 was associated with lower risk of premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer. After age 18, weight gain appeared to be a risk in postmenopausal women but not for premenopausal breast cancer incidence. And this increased postmenopausal risk of weight gain was limited to women who had never used hormone replacement. In this population,women who had gained more than 20kg had a risk of 1.99 (95%confidence interval,1.43-2.76) compared with those who¹s weight remained unchanged. A strong association between current BMI and adult weight gain were found with fatal postmenopausal breast cancer incidence. Approximately 16% of postmenopausal breast cancer was accounted for by weight gain alone and 5%by hormone replacement therapy alone. The combination of weight gain and hormone replacement therapy accounted for about 1/3 of the postmenopausal breast cancers. The authors feel that weight gain is a modifiable risk for breast cancer prevention efforts. Avoiding adult weight gain may contribute to the prevention of breast cancer after menopause. This may be even more pertinent to women who do not use hormone replacement therapy.
Comment:The authors are to be commended on their impressive study size and data collection . In spite of these efforts, the correlation of weight and breast cancer still remains elusive.

Endometriosis Linked To Breast, Ovarian, Hematopoietic Cancers
Title: Cancer risk after a hospital discharge diagnosis of endometriosis
Authors: LA Brinton et al.
Address: Bethesda, Maryland, Hanover, New Hampshire, Uppsala and Huddinge, Sweden
Source: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 176:572-579, 1997 (April)
Synopsis: This study examined the identified an increased risk of breast (1.3%), ovarian (1.9%) and hematopoietic cancers(1.4%) in women who had a hospital discharge diagnosis of endometriosis. The study cohort was provided by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. It reviewed 21,398 cases of a discharge diagnosis of endometriosis form 1969 to 1983. the mean follow up period was 11.4 years with a range of 1-21 years. The average age of diagnosis with endometriosis was 38.2 and the average age of cancer diagnosis was 52.3. Of the 21,398 patients included in the study, 738 total malignancies were noted resulting in an overall incidence ratio of 1.2%.
Comment: This article is included to inform, not scare. The findings are certainly theoretically consistent with what is known about endometriosis. If one considers that women with hormonal alterations are more likely to have endometriosis, the association is even more credible. A clear distinction needs to be made between cause and effect. Endometriosis does not cause cancer, but may be associated with alterations that favors cancer development. It is unclear whether treatment of endometriosis alters risk. It would also be of interest to know type stage of endometriosis. The finding of the increased risk of hematopoietic cancers surprised the authors. They suggest that both hormonal and immunologic alterations should be pursued further as explanations for the excess risks. The findings should not change the present clinical practices, but both eyes should remain open.