Britain will attempt to carry out its first womb transplants after a clinical trial enabling 10 women to undergo the procedure was approved, doctors said Wednesday.

Surgeons hope to replicate the success of the world's first-ever effective womb transplant, conducted on a 36-year-old woman in Sweden who gave birth last year.

Muammar Quider was set to marry, but he reached his breaking point as he dealt with the unique pressures of life in the Gaza Strip.

The 21-year-old Palestinian recently tried to kill himself by swallowing rat poison.

Fewer than a quarter of the 15 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide this year have access to safe and proper surgery, researchers said Monday.

Surgery is the mainstay of cancer control or cure and is required in 80 percent of cases, but over three quarters of patients cannot get it where they live, according to a study published in The Lancet Oncology.

Many women with early-stage breast cancer can skip chemotherapy without hurting their odds of beating the disease — good news from a major study that shows the value of a gene-activity test to gauge each patient's risk.

The test accurately identified a group of women whose cancers are so likely to respond to hormone-blocking drugs that adding chemo would do little if any good while exposing them to side effects and other health risks. In the study, women who skipped chemo based on the test had less than a 1 percent chance of cancer recurring far away, such as the liver or lungs, within the next five years.

More than half the world's elderly lack access to long-term care, the International Labor Organization said in a report Monday, condemning the "deplorable" situation facing a rapidly ageing population.

A new report from the UN agency showed that some 300 million people over the age of 65 cannot easily access long-term care when needed.

Nigeria on Saturday celebrated the announcement by the U.N. health agency that polio is no longer endemic in the country. Polio which can cause life-long paralysis can be prevented with a simple vaccination.

Polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria, the World Health Organization said late Friday, leaving only Pakistan and its war-battered neighbor Afghanistan in the list of countries where the disease is prevalent.

An investment of $97-184 billion (87-165 billion euros) could make life-saving radiotherapy accessible to most people who need it by 2035 and save millions of lives, research showed Saturday.

Achieving full access to radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries would save an estimated 27 million "life years" -- extra years that cancer patients would have lost without treatment.

Makers of Roquefort and Camembert could benefit from a new genetic study of 14 fungal species found in cheeses, French researchers said Thursday.

But the study published in the journal Current Biology also raises questions about food safety due to the transfer of genes among Penicillium fungi, which are key to the making of soft cheeses.

A 13-year-old birth control implant came under new scrutiny Thursday as U.S. federal health experts discussed a host of problems reported by women implanted with the metallic device, including chronic pain, bleeding and fatigue.

The Essure implant from German manufacturer Bayer is frequently pitched to women as the only non-surgical option for permanent birth control.

A Brazilian manufacturer of breast and other implants insisted Thursday its products are safe, as several countries suspended their sale upon reports of contamination.

Health authorities in Britain, France, Switzerland and Australia have advised against the use of Silimed's products, which include breast implants, while tests are carried out by European Union regulators.