Culturally responsive strategies and practical considerations for live tissue studies in Māori participant cohorts.

Introduction: Indigenous communities globally are inequitably affected by non-communicable diseases such as cancer and coronary artery disease. Increased focus on personalized medicine approaches for the treatment of these diseases offers opportunities to improve the health of Indigenous people. Conversely, poorly implemented approaches pose increased risk of further exacerbating current inequities in health outcomes for Indigenous peoples.

'It's not a solution to keep telling me to lose weight!' Exploring endometrial cancer survivors' experiences of nutrition and well-being advice: A qualitative study.

Aims: The aim was to explore Endometrial cancer (EC) survivors' experiences of being offered nutrition and well-being advice.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted at two tertiary centres in Aotearoa New Zealand. Semi-structured conversations with people who had completed treatment for EC in the past 12 months were undertaken to explore how they were offered nutrition and well-being advice as part of standard follow-up care.

Small Steps, Big Vision: using multi-stage qualitative research to develop a grab-and-go guide to support utilisation of the Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care framework.

Background: The Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care is a national framework for local action in England co-produced by over 30 partners; little research has been conducted on how the Framework is received and used. This study sought to examine and support how people understand, interpret, and implement the Framework.

Methods: A multi-stage qualitative methodology involving four stages of data collection: (1) case study interviews, (2) focus groups, (3) interactive workshops, and (4) Evidence Cafés.

Development of a long term, ex vivo, patient-derived explant model of endometrial cancer.

Incidence of endometrial cancer (EC) is rising in the developed world. The current standard of care, hysterectomy, is often infeasible for younger patients and those with high body mass index. There are limited non-surgical treatment options and a lack of biologically relevant research models to investigate novel alternatives to surgery for EC.

"I'm not getting paid to give you a TED talk on how my trans body works". Experiences of hysterectomy gender affirming surgery: A qualitative study.

Objective: To explore the experiences of care surrounding hysterectomy as part of gender affirming surgery.

Methods: An in-depth reflexive thematic analysis from accounts by 10 out of 12 people was undertaken. Experiences were then mapped to the surgery journey as a template for developing system responsiveness.

Retrospective review of endometriosis surgery at Te Whatu Ora - Capital and Coast.

Introduction: Endometriosis is an under-researched disease, with Aotearoa-specific data severely lacking. Current estimates of parameters such as rates of endometriosis diagnosis, indication for surgery and sites of disease are based on international data. There is currently no published data on endometriosis surgeries in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Exploring health professionals' viewpoint of provision of nutrition advice for women with endometrial cancer.

Aims: The aim of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to delivery and uptake of nutrition advice to women diagnosed with endometrial cancer from a health professionals' viewpoint.

Methods: Fifteen semi-structured interviews with health professionals with experience in providing healthcare to women diagnosed with endometrial cancer were audio-recorded and transcribed. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Increasing incidence of endometrial cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand: Health professionals' perspective.

Background: The incidence of endometrial cancer is globally increasing. Aotearoa New Zealand is no exception with a 59% increase in cases over that last ten years.

Aims: We report a sub-set of themes which pertain to provider reflections of rising endometrioid-type endometrial cancer incidence in individuals with high weight.

Can storytelling of women's lived experience enhance empathy in medical students? A pilot intervention study.

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to investigate the acceptability and efficacy of a patient storytelling intervention (live and recorded) on empathy levels of medical students.

Materials And Methods: Medical students participated in a storytelling intervention that had three components: listening to live or recorded stories from women with abnormal uterine bleeding, reflective writing, and a debriefing session. Empathy scores of students pre- and post-intervention were measured using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-student version (JSE-S).

Reflections on access to care for heavy menstrual bleeding: Past, present, and in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The symptom of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) affects at least a quarter of reproductive-age menstruators. However, given the variance in diagnosing the underlying causes, barriers, and inequity in access to care for HMB, and therefore reporting of HMB, this figure is likely to be a gross underestimate. HMB can have a detrimental impact on quality of life.

Ambitions for palliative and end of life care: mapping examples of use of the framework across England.

Background: Since 2015, the Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: a national framework for local action has provided guidance for care within England and beyond. Relaunched in 2021, the Framework sets out six Ambitions which, collectively, provide a vision to improve how death, dying and bereavement are experienced and managed. However, to date, there has been no central evaluation of how the Framework and its Ambitions have been implemented within service development and provision.

Transcriptomic identification of differentially expressed genes in Levonorgestrel resistant endometrial cancer cell lines.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic malignancy in the world and incidence is steadily increasing. The Levonorgestrel Intrauterine System (LNG-IUS) is an alternative conservative treatment for early-stage EC, however, Levonorgestrel (LNG) resistance occurs for 1 in 3 people. This study aimed to present potential LNG resistance mechanisms and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in EC cell lines.

A promising future for endometriosis diagnosis and therapy: extracellular vesicles - a systematic review.

Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory gynaecological disease that can have severe negative impacts on quality of life and fertility, placing burden on patients and the healthcare system. Due to the heterogeneous nature of endometriosis, and the lack of correlation between symptom and surgical disease severity, diagnosis and treatment remain a significant clinical challenge. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are biologically active particles containing molecular cargo involved in intercellular communication, that can be exploited for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Importance of the endometrial immune environment in endometrial cancer and associated therapies.

Endometrial cancer is rising in prevalence. The standard treatment modality of hysterectomy is becoming increasingly inadequate due primarily to the direct link between endometrial cancer and high BMI which increases surgical risks. This is an immunogenic cancer, with unique molecular subtypes associated with differential immune infiltration.

Recommendations for extracellular vesicle miRNA biomarker research in the endometrial cancer context.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecological malignancy in the developed world, and concerningly incidence is rising, particularly in younger people. Therefore, there is increased interest in novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound particles present in bodily fluids that have the potential to facilitate non-invasive, early diagnosis of EC and could aid with monitoring of recurrence and treatment response.

Circulating cell-free DNA undergoes significant decline in yield after prolonged storage time in both plasma and purified form.

Objectives: Circulating DNA (cirDNA) is generally purified from plasma that has been biobanked for variable lengths of time. In long-term experiments or clinical trials, the plasma can be stored frozen for up to several years. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the stability of cirDNA to ensure confidence in sample quality upon analysis.

Interventions to improve access to care for abnormal uterine bleeding: A systematic scoping review.

Background: Women with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) experience barriers to accessing healthcare services.

Objectives: To identify and describe the evidence on interventions to improve healthcare access of women with AUB.

Search Strategy: A systematic search of databases including Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane register for clinical trials on February 26, 2021.

Molecular Profiling of Endometrial Cancer: An Exploratory Study in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Background: Aotearoa, New Zealand, has one of the fastest-rising rates of endometrial cancer (EC) worldwide, increasing particularly in younger Māori and Pasifika women. There is a move towards using molecular profiling to direct treatment for each EC subtype.

Aim: This study aimed to explore the molecular profiling of primary EC tissue in Aotearoa.

Characterisation of Levonorgestrel-Resistant Endometrial Cancer Cells.

Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynaecologic malignancy in the developed world, and incidence is increasing in premenopausal women. The levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) is gaining traction as an alternative treatment for hyperplasia and early-stage EC for women who are unable to undergo surgery. Thirty to 60% of the women do not respond to this treatment, making the unknown mechanisms of levonorgestrel (LNG) resistance a critical obstacle for the conservative management of EC.

Total and endothelial cell-derived cell-free DNA in blood plasma does not change during menstruation.

Assays measuring cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in blood have widespread potential in modern medicine. However, a comprehensive understanding of cfDNA dynamics in healthy individuals is required to assist in the design of assays that maximise the signal driven by pathological changes, while excluding fluctuations that are part of healthy physiological processes. The menstrual cycle involves major remodelling of endometrial tissue and associated apoptosis, yet there has been little investigation of the impact of the menstrual cycle on cfDNA levels.

'The horror stories put me off!': exploring women's acceptability of the Levonorgestrel IntraUterine System (LNG-IUS) for endometrial protection.

INTRODUCTION There are few studies of user perceptions of the Levonorgestrel Intrauterine System (LNG-IUS; Mirena™), which now has the potential to play an important role in the treatment of women with hyperplasia or early stage endometrial cancer. There is limited evidence on how well the Mirena™ is perceived and accepted by women in this context. AIM To gain an understanding of New Zealand women's views on the use of the Mirena™ contraceptive device to inform policies in endometrial cancer prevention.