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norethindrone + ethinyl estradiol (low dose) (Femcon Fe / Femcon Fe / Ovcon 35 Fe)

✓ Approved

Warner Chilcott PLC · ESR1 · Small Molecule

What is norethindrone + ethinyl estradiol (low dose)?

norethindrone + ethinyl estradiol (low dose) is a small molecule developed by Warner Chilcott PLC. It is approved for therapeutic indications via oral (po).

Drug Profile

Brand NamesFemcon Fe, Femcon Fe, Ovcon 35 Fe
CompanyWarner Chilcott PLC
Drug ClassSmall Molecule
Molecular TargetESR1, PGR
RouteOral (PO)
StatusApproved
Sources: ClinicalTrials.gov, Warner Chilcott PLC

Mechanism of Action

Molecular Targets

norethindrone + ethinyl estradiol (low dose) acts on 2 molecular targets:

ESR1estrogen receptor 1 (ER, ESR)
PGRprogesterone receptor (NR3C3, PR)
Want deeper analysis?Noah AI can explain complex mechanisms and compare to similar drugs.

Related Research Articles

PubMedArchivos espanoles de urologia2026-10-15

Reducing Radiation Exposure in Endourology: Practical Recommendations for the Urologist.

Campos-Valverde Daniel D, Bueno-Serrano Gonzalo G, Donis Canet Francisco F, Castro Fernández Paz P et al.

Radiation exposure remains an unavoidable part of modern stone management. Patients with urolithiasis may receive ionising radiation during diagnosis, surgical treatment and follow-up, particularly when computed tomography, plain radiography and intraoperative fluoroscopy are repeatedly used. In parallel, urologists and operating room staff are exposed to scattered radiation during endourological procedures, especially in complex or prolonged cases. Although the individual risk of radiation-induced malignancy in this setting is difficult to quantify and should not be overstated, cumulative exposure should be actively reduced whenever this can be achieved without compromising safety or surgical efficacy. This narrative review provides practical recommendations for reducing radiation exposure in endourology, with a focus on ureteroscopy, retrograde intrarenal surgery, percutaneous nephrolithotomy and endoscopic combined intrarenal surgery. It is based on current European Association of Urology guidance on urolithiasis and radiation protection in endourology, together with the relevant clinical literature on fluoroscopy use, occupational exposure, low-dose protocols, ultrasound-guided access and fluoroscopy-sparing techniques. The core principles include appropriate justification for imaging, adherence to the as low as reasonably achievable principle, minimisation of fluoroscopy time, maximisation of distance from the radiation source, adequate shielding, collimation, pulsed fluoroscopy, low-dose settings, avoidance of unnecessary magnification and systematic use of last-image hold. Radiation reduction in endourology should be viewed as part of good surgical technique rather than as an administrative requirement. Simple measures, consistently applied, can reduce exposure for both patients and staff. Ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopy-sparing approaches offer additional opportunities, particularly in percutaneous stone surgery, but require training, case selection and awareness of their limitations. A structured radiation safety culture, led by the urologist and shared by the whole operating room team, is essential for safer and more sustainable endourological practice.

PMID 42876118
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PubMedJournal of applied clinical medical physics2026-10-15

Machine learning predictors of post-radiotherapy cardiotoxicity in a Latin American breast cancer cohort: Clinical risk factors outperform cardiac dosimetry.

Aguirre-Bravo Víctor V, El Far Rodrigo R, Herrera Ruiz María M, Gálvez Santelices Sophia S et al.

Most evidence on post-radiotherapy cardiotoxicity (CDT) derives from Global North cohorts, and the relative contribution of baseline clinical risk versus cardiac dosimetry remains poorly characterized in Latin American populations. To examine, in a Chilean breast cancer cohort, whether baseline clinical risk factors or cardiac dose-volume metrics better predict post-RT cardiac events, using supervised and unsupervised learning. Retrospective cohort of 42 breast cancer patients treated with thoracic radiotherapy (RT, median heart dose 2.6 Gy; median follow-up 84.4 months). CDT was defined per CTCAE v5.0 ( ≥ Grade 1), excluding Grade 1 events coded under the non-specific term "Cardiac disorders - Other, specify", which on review were incidental imaging findings. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters from seven cardiac substructures were extracted. Firth penalized logistic regression was used for prediction, principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel PCA for exploratory clustering, and bootstrap 0.632+ for optimism correction. The 2023 American Heart Association (AHA) PREVENT score was evaluated post hoc. Ten patients (23.8%) developed CDT and 16 (38.1%) experienced cardiovascular events. No DVH differences were found between CDT+ and CDT- groups across any cardiac structure (all p > 0.05 ), although the design is powered only for large effects. By contrast, IMRT delivered significantly higher cardiac doses than 3D-CRT across multiple substructures, without a differential CDT rate. Pre-existing cardiovascular disease was the strongest predictor (crude OR = 6.50, p = 0.020 ; adjusted OR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.03-4.16, p = 0.040 ). The median time to the first CTCAE-graded event was 48.4 months. The clinical-only model reached an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.783 versus 0.604 for dosimetry alone; the combined model corrected to 0.649 (95% CI 0.204-0.933). The AHA PREVENT score showed no significant risk gradient (trend p = 0.203 ) but was markedly less susceptible to overfitting than DVH-only models (optimism 0.089 vs. 0.194). In this low-cardiac-dose cohort, baseline clinical variables outperformed cardiac dose-volume metrics in predicting post-RT cardiac events, although the design was not powered to exclude a dose-effect relationship at these exposures. Registry-based baseline risk assessment is therefore the more robust starting point in this setting, and IMRT breast RT planning warrants multi-substructure cardiac dosimetry monitoring.

PMID 42876042
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PubMedPhysics in medicine and biology2026-10-15

Practical considerations in measuring out-of-field neutron dose for pulsed and gantry-mounted proton therapy machines.

Zhang Hailei H, Mazur Thomas R TR, Zorloni Gabriele G, Darafsheh Arash A

Objective.Synchrocyclotrons deliver radiation in distinct macro pulses with high instantaneous dose rate that distinguish them from isochronous cyclotrons and synchrotrons. The relatively high instantaneous dose rates associated with synchrocyclotrons require special consideration in measurement of the neutron dose. The objective of this work is to measure the out-of-field neutron ambient dose equivalent (H*(10)) as a conservative operational surrogate to assess the fetal dose due to secondary neutrons for a gantry-mounted synchrocyclotron proton therapy system when an intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) brain treatment is delivered with the dynamic aperture (DA), static aperture (SA), and no aperture (NA).Approach.A pencil beam scanning (PBS) gantry-mounted synchrocyclotron was used for beam delivery. IMPT plans employing the DA, SA, and NA, each with 3 fields (vertex, lateral, and posterior-anterior (PA)) were optimized using the treatment planning system to treat a left-sided spherical brain target with 6 cm diameter to a total dose of 66 Gy (weighted by radiobiological effectiveness [RBE] 1.1) in 33 fractions. The plans were delivered to an anthropomorphic phantom and the neutron H*(10) was measured using two commercial rem-meters, a WENDI-II and a LUPIN-BF3-NP counter at 43, 53, 61, and 71 cm distance from the isocenter intended to mimic distances to a fetus at various gestational periods. To investigate the influence of the couch angle for the PA field, the neutron dose from the PA field was measured at several couch angles including 0°, 180°, and 270°.Main results.WENDI-II suffers from dead-time associated issues and underestimated the dose by a factor of ∼1.7-2.7 compared to LUPIN-BF3-NP. H*(10) showed dependence on the measurement location and the use of field shaping system. The total H*(10) for 66 Gy-equivalent proton dose was estimated to be 10.7 mSv (9.7 mSv) and 4.9 mSv (4.5 mSv) at 43 and 71 cm distance from the isocenter, respectively, when the SA (DA) was used. Without an aperture the corresponding values were 11.8 mSv and 5.3 mSv. The 270°-couch-angle resulted in the highest neutron dose from the PA field by ∼15% relative to the 0°-couch-angle, resulting in an increase in the neutron dose by ∼5% for the whole treatment.Significance.WENDI-II is not a reliable device for in-room neutron dose measurement for synchrocyclotrons with high instantaneous dose rates. Employing appropriate use of the aperture system as well as avoiding the 270° couch angle for the PA field can minimize the neutron dose in the gantry-mounted system studied in this work.

PMID 42876248
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PubMedFrontiers in oncology2026-10-15

Local control after stereotactic radiation for thyroid cancer: a histology risk-stratified analysis.

Gui Bin B, Sekar Jayavignesh J, Locke Margaret M, Saha Shyamali S et al.

Recurrent and metastatic non-anaplastic thyroid cancer has traditionally been considered relatively radioresistant. We evaluated whether anatomic site or histology risk group better predicts local control (LC) following stereotactic radiation therapy (SBRT/SRS). We retrospectively reviewed 32 patients with 66 treated lesions (42 skeletal, 24 non-skeletal) treated between 2012 and 2025. Histology was dichotomized into low-risk (papillary, follicular, medullary, Hürthle cell; n=61) and high-risk (poorly differentiated and squamous cell carcinoma; n=5). BED10 was calculated using α/β = 10 Gy. LC was defined per RECIST 1.1. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests were used. Intra-patient correlation was addressed via generalized estimating equations (GEE) and Cox shared frailty models. A multivariable GEE model included histology risk, site, BED10, PTV volume, prior surgery, and age. Median follow-up was 15.0 months. Six local failures occurred (crude LC 90.9%); 1- and 2-year LC were 96.5% and 87.1%. Histology risk was the dominant determinant: low-risk histology achieved 95.1% crude LC versus 40.0% for high-risk (log-rank p=0.002). In multivariable GEE analysis, low-risk histology was independently associated with LC (OR 158.0, 95% CI 1.72-14,479.7; p=0.028), whereas skeletal site was not (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.02-51.8; p=0.974). BED10 was not associated with LC after adjustment (p=0.752). Skeletal and non-skeletal LC were similar after histology stratification (95.0% vs 95.2% among low-risk). Treatment was well tolerated; no Grade ≥3 radiation toxicity, myelopathy, or fractures occurred. In stereotactic radiation for metastatic non-anaplastic thyroid cancer, histology risk grouping-not anatomic site or dose escalation-is the dominant predictor of local control. These findings support histology-based risk stratification for SRT patient selection.

PMID 42876475
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PubMedPlant biotechnology journal2026-10-15

PbSnRK1-Mediated Phosphorylation of PbTCP13 Regulates Glucose-Responsive Lignin Biosynthesis via PbMYB11 During Pear Stone Cell Formation.

He Jianan J, Wang Xuxu X, Basit Abdul A, Li Wen W et al.

Stone cell lignification is a key determinant of pear fruit texture and commercial quality, and this process has been reported to be tightly coupled to cellular glucose availability. However, how glucose dose-dependently targets transcription factor phosphorylation during lignin biosynthesis remains largely unknown. Using yeast two-hybrid library screening and phosphorylation assays, we found that PbSnRK1, a glucose-responsive kinase, interacts with and directly phosphorylates PbTCP13, thereby participating in the regulation of stone cell lignification. PbSnRK1 serves as an energy-status sensor linking glucose signalling to biphasic regulation of lignin metabolism in pear. Under low-glucose conditions, activated PbSnRK1 phosphorylates the transcription factor PbTCP13 at Ser265, targeting it for 26S proteasome-mediated degradation and thereby derepressing PbMYB11-PbCCR1 cascade associated with lignin biosynthesis. Under high-glucose conditions, suppressed PbSnRK1 kinase activity results in PbTCP13 protein accumulation, which restricts excessive lignification by both repressing PbCCR1 transcription and physically interacting with PbMYB11 to inhibit its transactivation capacity. This PbSnRK1-PbTCP13-PbMYB11 cascade, balanced by glucose concentration, acts as a molecular switch that activates stone cell formation and lignification at low-glucose levels during early fruit development, while restricting excessive lignification at high-glucose levels during later stages, providing new mechanistic insights into energy-coupled secondary wall metabolism in fleshy fruits.

PMID 42876333
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PubMedFrontiers in nutrition2026-10-15

Correcting zinc deficiency in nursing home residents: a randomized trial comparing 30 and 60 mg/day elemental zinc supplementation.

Ortega Edwin F EF, Yao Jonathan H JH, Guo Weimin W, Boehm Sarah K SK et al.

Low serum zinc is associated with higher pneumonia incidence and illness duration compared to individuals with adequate serum zinc levels. However, the optimal and safe zinc supplementation dose to correct deficiency has not been established. This study aimed to determine the optimal and safe dose of elemental zinc supplementation to correct deficiency in older adults residing in nursing homes. Methods: We conducted a 12-month randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial in zinc-deficient nursing home residents, comparing supplementation of 30 and 60 mg/day elemental zinc versus placebo on zinc status and potential adverse effects (n = 26-35/group). Both the 30 and 60 mg/day groups significantly increased serum zinc levels compared to placebo (p < 0.001). All participants in the 60 mg/day group reached the target threshold (> 70 μg/dL), with 100% achieving zinc adequacy by month 8. In contrast, only 46.4% (13 of 28) of participants in the 30 mg/day group reached this threshold, with the proportion plateauing at month 8. No participant in the placebo group reached zinc adequacy. No impact on copper status was detected. Although not powered for clinical outcomes, exploratory analyses showed participants in the placebo group reported significantly more coughing episodes, fevers, and chills throughout the study compared to those in 30 and 60 mg/d supplemented groups. In zinc deficient older adults, 60 mg/day of elemental zinc effectively corrected deficiency with no adverse effects. These findings inform the dosing protocol for a fully powered randomized trial testing the effect of zinc supplementation on pneumonia incidence and outcomes in this population. https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT05527899.

PMID 42876725
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