Lifeline® Introduces New Cervical Epithelial Cells to Female Reproductive Catalog
Cervical Cancer: Facts, Statistics, and Prevention
The cervix is part of the female reproductive system and lies at the base of the uterus. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2017, 12,820 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and approximately 4,210 women will die from the disease. Importantly, these rates are significantly down from previous years. In fact, the American Cancer Society estimates that this is a 50% decrease from 40 years ago, largely due to improved screening methods like the Pap test. The Pap test is capable of detected pre-cancerous lesions, which allows for treatment before established cancer develops. Pap tests are recommended every three years in women aged 21-29, and every five years after age 30.
One of the major causes of cervical cancer is human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, which occurs in the majority of the US population. Most infections are cleared by the body, but a chronic HPV infection may lead to cervical cancer, as well as oral and throat cancer. There are multiple types of HPV, not all of which are cancer-associated. However, HPV 16 and 18 are implicated in approximately two-thirds of cervical cancers. There are now HPV vaccines that target HPV 16 and 18, and are available under the commercial names Gardasil®, Gardasil 9®, and Cervarix®. Recommended administration of these vaccines is to both genders around the ages of 11-12.
Introducing NEW Cervical Epithelial Cells from Lifeline®
Lifeline® is excited to announce that we will now offer cervical epithelial cells as part of our female reproductive cell catalog. Cervical epithelial cells are optimized for growth in ReproLife™ CX medium for at least ten population doublings. Importantly, ReproLife™ CX does not contain phenol red, which can exogenously bind and activate cellular estrogen receptors, making this media appropriate for hormone studies.
NEW cervical epithelial cells can be used in multiple areas of research, including:
• Cervical infections, including HPV, herpes simplex, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis
• As a normal cell control for cervical cancer cell lines such as HeLa cells, or human cervical cancer samples
• Drug studies to evaluate new therapeutic compounds for cervical cancer
• As a normal in vitro system to study the normal cervical epithelium, including its interactions with stromal or immune components
Try out our NEW cervical epithelial cells and let us know what you think! And tune in here every other week to see a new blog post featuring recent published studies using Lifeline® cells.
Statistics, Pap test, and HPV information from the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.