A survey assessing the impact of symptoms related to the menstrual cycle and perceptions of workplace productivity: considerations for employer-sponsored menstrual health programs.

Background: Hormonal-related symptoms experienced during natural or contraceptive-driven menstrual cycles have implications on work-related productivity; however, employer-sponsored menstrual health resources are widely unavailable. Actionable research-based evidence is needed to develop menstrual health programs that proactively help working females mitigate their hormonal-related symptoms and optimize their hormone profiles and work-related performance. This study sought to evaluate the prevalence and severity of hormonal-related symptoms and assess the directional impact of hormonal-related symptoms on work-related productivity across cyclical hormone phases.

Autocrine inhibition of the c-fms proto-oncogene reduces breast cancer bone metastasis assessed with in vivo dual-modality imaging.

Breast cancer cells preferentially home to the bone microenvironment, which provides a unique niche with a network of multiple bidirectional communications between host and tumor, promoting survival and growth of bone metastases. In the bone microenvironment, the c-fms proto-oncogene that encodes for the CSF-1 receptor, along with CSF-1, serves as one critical cytokine/receptor pair, functioning in paracrine and autocrine fashion. Previous studies concentrated on the effect of inhibition of host (mouse) c-fms on bone metastasis, with resulting decrease in osteolysis and bone metastases as a paracrine effect.