TUESDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment at semi-specialized or specialized hospitals improved survival time for ovarian cancer patients, a Dutch study found.

For the study, the researchers examined data on 8,621 ovarian cancer patients treated in the Netherlands between 1996 and 2003. Of those women, 40 percent were treated in general hospitals, 41 percent in semi-specialized hospitals, and 18 percent in specialized hospitals. Five-year survival was 38 percent, 39.4 percent, and 40.3 percent, respectively.

The University Medical Center Utrecht researchers said the difference was statistically significant for women ages 50 to 75 who were diagnosed with early ovarian cancer. Their risk of death decreased by 30 percent (semi-specialized hospital) and 42 percent (specialized hospital), compared to those treated at a general hospital.

"This result indicates that the level of collaboration during the study period did not suffice to deliver optimal care to all Dutch ovarian cancer patients, and regionalization of the care for such patients thus seems necessary," the researchers wrote.

The study was published online March 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

While this and other studies that correlate patterns of care and clinical outcomes are important, they need to be interpreted with caution, Dr. Deborah Schrag, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, wrote in an accompanying editorial. Confounding variables and information that isn't tracked in such studies can lead to inaccurate conclusions, she warned.

For example, in the Dutch study, the ages and types of treatment received by ovarian cancer patients at general hospitals appeared to be different than those of patients treated at semi-specialized and specialized hospitals. In addition, there was no information about other health issues that may have affected patient results.

"Therefore, this analysis, in and of itself, does not justify regionalization of ovarian cancer surgery in the Netherlands to specialty centers," Schrag wrote.

In order to achieve more accurate analyses, cancer registries need to collect a wider range of information, she suggested.

"As the number of cancer therapies increases, and as the need to systematically evaluate their real-world clinical effectiveness grows, there is a need to optimize the data that can be gleaned from observational data sources," Schrag wrote. "A compelling case can be made for expanding the scope of data that tumor registries collect."

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about ovarian cancer treatment  .

SATURDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Yoga helps ease hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors, a U.S. study says.

Some of the 37 women who'd had early stage breast cancer took part in an eight-week "Yoga of Awareness" program, while others were assigned to a control group. All the women self-reported their menopausal symptoms before, immediately after, and three months after the program.

The yoga program used in this study is specifically designed to address menopausal symptoms through gentle stretching postures, breathing exercises, meditation techniques, group discussions and study of yoga principles.

"This program is not what you'd find at your local fitness center," study co-author Laura Porter, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. " 'Yoga of Awareness' is based on traditional yoga techniques that go beyond the teaching of specific postures to incorporate practices aimed at reducing stress and creating a heightened sense of awareness and acceptance about one's physical and mental state."

Women who took part in the yoga program showed significant reductions in the frequency and severity of their hot flashes, along with decrease in fatigue, joint pain, sleep disturbance, and symptom-related distress. They also reported increased vigor.

These improvements were still evident three months after the end of the yoga program.

The study was to be presented Saturday at the International Association of Yoga Therapists Symposium for Yoga Therapy and Research, in Los Angeles.

The researchers noted that breast cancer survivors often have more severe menopausal symptoms than other women but have limited treatment options. For example, they can't have hormone replacement therapy that may increase their risk of cancer recurrence. In addition, drugs used to prevent cancer recurrence tend to induce or exacerbate menopausal symptoms.

"While this is a specific pilot program, women seeking similar results could consult with an experienced yoga instructor to learn some of the same techniques," Porter said. "In addition to the traditional yoga postures, a well-trained yoga instructor or other mind-body practitioner may be able to provide instruction in breathing and meditation techniques to help manage stress and alleviate bothersome menopausal symptoms."

More information

The National Institute on Aging has more about menopause  .

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- In addition to detecting breast cancer in its early stages, new research suggests that mammograms may also help predict which women are at risk for strokes.

Calcifications found in the blood vessels of the breasts -- what doctors call benign arterial calcifications -- were more commonly found on the mammograms of women who had suffered a stroke, said Dr. Paul S. Dale, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Missouri's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. He is the lead author of the research, which was expected to be presented Wednesday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.

Previous studies, including some by the University of Missouri team, have found a link between these calcifications, which are not cancerous, and the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. But Dale said he believes this latest study has found an even stronger association.

In all, they looked at 793 mammograms of women aged 40 to 90. On the screening mammograms, 86 of the 793 women, or about 10 percent, had the calcifications. But 115 of the 204 women in the group who had had stroke had the calcifications.

"Of those who had a stroke, 56 percent of them had these calcifications on their mammogram, compared to about 10 percent of women in the general population," Paul said. "The important thing here is, we adjusted for age, because age increases your risk of stroke and also of having calcifications on your mammogram."

While the finding is not brand new, it is interesting, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There have been other studies to show this," she said. "As a cardiologist, I would love this information."

It's one more piece of information, she said, that could potentially help inform doctors about a woman's risk for cardiovascular disease.

If she got a mammogram from a patient with that information, she said, "it would lead me to believe I need to screen this woman for cardiovascular disease."

Dale's team is continuing to study the link between the calcifications and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It's probably too soon, he said, to advise women to ask their doctor if they have calcifications on the mammogram. After more research is done, that might be a consumer-savvy step.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death for women over 40, Dale noted.

More information

To learn more about stroke, visit American Stroke Association  .

TUESDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Women face unique challenges in keeping their blood pressure under control, and this may help explain why more women than men struggle with uncontrolled blood pressure.

That's just one of a series of conclusions based on studies published in a special issue of the journal Hypertension. The issue commemorates the fifth anniversary of the American Heart Association's "Go Red For Women" campaign, which is designed to focus awareness of heart-disease risks for women.

Heart disease is the leading killer of women and men in the United States, and high blood pressure is a major contributor to such problems as heart attack and stroke.

The journal issue contains more than 45 studies and editorials that deal with the problem of high blood pressure among women. Issues examined include high blood pressure during pregnancy, and the disparity between women and men in controlling blood pressure.

"With only 60 percent of women with high blood pressure having their blood pressure controlled, we have a big problem that can lead to stroke and heart attack," said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of New York University Medical Center's Women's Heart Program, and a spokeswoman for the "Go Red For Women" campaign.

There are several reasons for this problem, Goldberg said. "I think one is that women's needs aren't being met in the doctor's office," she said. "Doctors have to pay more attention to women's blood pressure."

Also, women need to be informed about what their optimal blood pressure should be, Goldberg said. "Their optimal pressure should be less than 120/80 mmHg. By reducing blood pressure from 140/90 mmHg to 120/80 mmHg, you cut stroke risk in half and heart attack risk by 25 percent," she said.

Women also need to take steps to have their blood pressure diagnosed, Goldberg said.

"Women shouldn't just let the doctor take their blood pressure, they should ask for their number. People are very goal oriented, and when a patient knows what the goal is, they can focus on achieving that goal," said Goldberg, who's the author of The Women's Healthy Heart Program: Lifesaving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease.

One study in the journal looked at the differences between American men and women in controlling blood pressure. It found that while a high percentage of both men and women did not have their blood pressure under control (55.9 percent of women and 50.8 percent of men), women were more likely to be obese and have high cholesterol than men.

Another study found that U.S. women were less likely to meet blood pressure target goals than men -- 54 percent of women compared to 58.7 percent of men. Women were also less likely than men to receive medications such as aspirin, blood pressure-lowering drugs or cholesterol-lowering drugs, compared to men, the study found.

There are steps women can take to help reduce the risk of high blood pressure. One of them is eating low-fat dairy foods, Goldberg said.

One study that looked at the benefit of low-fat dairy foods found that women 45 years old and older who ate such foods were at lower risk of developing high blood pressure.

"In our study, we found that higher low-fat dairy intake, but not high-fat dairy intake, was associated with lower risk of hypertension," said lead researcher Dr. Lu Wang, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "The association was partially attributed to calcium and vitamin D in dairy products."

A number of studies in the journal, which was published Feb. 8, focused on high blood pressure associated with pregnancy. One in 10 pregnancies is complicated by high blood pressure.

Women with high blood pressure are especially prone to developing preeclampsia during pregnancy. Among women with preeclampsia, 48 percent are likely to deliver low birth-weight babies, and 51 percent are likely to have pre-term infants, researchers found.

And smoking can increase the risks that occur with preeclampsia, but stopping smoking can reduce those risks, British researchers found.

More information

For more on women and high blood pressure, visit the American Heart Association  .