Influence of the menstrual cycle and sex hormones on the response to genotoxic stress in human cells.

Studied

Researchers tested how menstrual phase and sex hormones relate to cells' responses to DNA damage.

Who / model

Blood cells came from 10 naturally cycling women at three cycle phases and six age-matched men. Additional experiments used cell lines. Exposure duration is not stated.

Studied dose & schedule

Dose and schedule have not yet been extracted for this summary.

Found

Cells from the early follicular phase had the least DNA strand damage and highest survival after hydrogen peroxide. Cell death correlated with progesterone. Menstrual phase showed no clear effect on the measured DNA-repair signal or olaparib's inhibition.

Limits

The authors describe this as a pilot and call for deeper investigation.

Read summary source ↗ · Prepared 9/15/2026 · AI-assisted, source-based summary