{"id":114475,"date":"2026-07-01T14:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T14:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/?p=114475"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:32:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T14:32:40","slug":"an-old-cancer-drug-revives-hopes-in-addressing-infertility-in-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/an-old-cancer-drug-revives-hopes-in-addressing-infertility-in-women\/","title":{"rendered":"An old cancer drug revives hopes in addressing infertility in women"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An old cancer drug opens new horizons for treating infertility associated with early ovarian failure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A recent pilot study has revealed promising results suggesting that a drug used for decades in treating certain types of cancer may help restore ovarian function in women suffering from premature ovarian failure, a condition considered one of the leading causes of infertility in women under the age of forty.<\/p>\n

The study results showed that treatment using the drug \u201crituximab,\u201d which received its first medical approval in 1997 for the treatment of leukemia and is marketed under the brand name \u201cRituxan\u201d by the companies \u201cRoche\u201d and \u201cBiogen,\u201d enabled three out of ten women who underwent the treatment to conceive after successful fertilization and embryo transfer procedures.<\/p>\n

Premature ovarian failure is a disorder that causes the ovaries to stop functioning normally before the age of forty. It is associated with several factors, including autoimmune disorders and genetic factors, which in some cases lead to the destruction of ovarian follicles that contain eggs.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the journal \u201cNEJM Evidence,\u201d followed ten young women diagnosed with premature ovarian failure caused by autoimmune disorders, where each participant\u2019s immune system attacked the ovarian follicles, resulting in the loss of the ability to produce mature eggs.<\/p>\n

Promising response after immune suppression<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The participants underwent an ovarian stimulation program using hormonal injections before receiving treatment with \u201crituximab,\u201d and the attempt was repeated four to six months after completing the immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cRituximab\u201d is considered the first immunotherapy originally developed to fight cancer before later being used to treat a range of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, due to its ability to suppress certain immune cells responsible for attacking the body\u2019s tissues.<\/p>\n

Ovarian stimulation aims to activate the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs in a single cycle through daily hormonal injections. However, all participants failed to respond to this procedure before receiving immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

After the use of \u201crituximab,\u201d the situation changed, as six out of ten women showed a clear response to treatment. Ovarian follicles developed in a way that allowed doctors to extract viable eggs following hormonal stimulation, which researchers considered an indication of the potential restoration of ovarian activity in some cases.<\/p>\n

Dr. Angelica Linden Hirschberg, head of the research team at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said that the results suggest that some women with premature ovarian failure still retain an egg reserve that can be reactivated when immune activity targeting the ovaries is suppressed.<\/p>\n

Need for larger studies to confirm results<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The study indicated that researchers were able to freeze or fertilize mature eggs in five of the participants, after which embryos were later implanted in three women, resulting in the birth of healthy children in all cases.<\/p>\n

The research team noted that\u2014due to safety concerns\u2014embryos were only transferred at least one year after completing rituximab treatment, to ensure any potential drug effects had fully cleared before pregnancy began.<\/p>\n

Regarding safety, researchers reported only one case of serious side effects, noting that it was linked to ovarian hormonal stimulation procedures rather than the immunotherapy itself.<\/p>\n

Despite the encouraging results, the researchers emphasized that the study remains limited due to the small sample size, stressing that adopting this treatment approach requires larger clinical trials involving more patients to confirm its long-term effectiveness and safety.<\/p>\n

They added that a broader study has already begun, in a step researchers hope will provide a new treatment option for women with premature ovarian failure and open a door of hope for a group that previously had very limited chances of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

United News Network \u2013 UNN Arabic<\/strong><\/p>\n

An independent media platform providing reliable news and objective analysis, aiming to promote peace and cultural dialogue around the world, convey the truth, and build bridges of understanding between peoples.<\/p>\n

For more news, you can visit our main page:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/un-news.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Consultant Faisal Al-Mutairi.<\/p>\n

Publication date:<\/strong> July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Update date: July 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An old cancer drug opens new horizons for treating infertility associated with early ovarian failure A recent pilot study has revealed promising results suggesting that a drug used for decades in treating certain types of cancer may help restore ovarian function in women suffering from premature ovarian failure, a condition considered one of the leading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[74],"class_list":{"0":"post-114475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-health-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114476,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114475\/revisions\/114476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114475"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=114475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}