DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've read so much about the health benefits of tracking my steps. But there's a lot of confusing information out there. How many is the right number? Are some "steps" better for you than others? Please help.

ANSWER: Whether you're tracking steps with your phone, a smartwatch or an old-school pedometer, the result is the same: you'll have a good indicator of how much you're moving during the day. The best device for you is the one you'll use. With many devices, you can set up alerts and goals that remind you to move. And that's what counts. The ultimate goal is to move 150 minutes per week.

Reaping the benefits

You're right about the health benefits of getting in your steps. Here's what walking can help you do:

• Control your blood pressure.
• Lose or maintain weight.
• Improve balance and coordination.
• Increase core strength.
• Manage stress and improve mood by releasing endorphins.
• Manage your diabetes.
• Reduce the risk of a heart attack.
• Reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Stay strong and active.

Walking also has been shown to:

• Improve sleep.
• Slow mental decline.
• Lower the risk of dementia.
• Reduce the risk of some cancers.
• Help you lead a longer life.
• Maintain independent living into older age.

If you're on a medically assisted weight-loss journey, whether that's bariatric surgery or a GLP-1 drug, being physically active will help burn calories, build strength, maintain muscle mass and bone density, and promote sustainable weight loss. It also can help medications work better.

Tracking steps

Is there a magic number of steps for reaping these health benefits? Not really. If you can get in 10,000 steps a day, great. Research has shown that 10,000 steps a day can lead to reductions in premature death, with a majority of that reduction happening between 4,000 and 8,000 steps. After 10,000, you'll still see benefits, but they start to plateau. 

How you get your steps doesn't really matter. Walking has a cumulative effect on your body across your day. So whether you walk your dog for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night, go for a brisk 30-minute walk or spend an hour moving around the house or working in the yard, those steps all count.

Getting started

The best way to start tracking your steps is to take it slow and steady. Listen to your body — it will tell you whether you're trying to do too much. Work more steps into your day by parking farther away from entrances, walking in place while you're waiting for the timer on the microwave to go off, and making multiple trips to bring in packages rather than loading up in just one. You may want to consider getting a walking pad and use it while watching TV or doing food prep in the kitchen.

Setting the pace

When you're advised to go for a brisk walk, what does that mean? "Brisk" is different for everyone. The average walking speed to aim for is 3 to 3.5 mph, which a device can help you measure. If you can walk faster safely, great. However, walking slowly is better than not walking at all and will still give you the benefits of moving your body.

The talk test is an easy way to identify a proper intensity. If you're able to talk but find it difficult to carry on a full conversation, that's "brisk" for you. You may not be out of breath, but your breathing is definitely elevated. New research indicates that brisk walking can boost brain function and well-being, as well as physical health.

Even if you're able to get in a little bit of walking every day, your body responds to this exercise, and you gain the benefits.

By Mackenzie Long, Physical Therapy/Sports Medicine, Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse and Onalaska, Wisconsin

The post Mayo Clinic Q&A: Health benefits of counting steps appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Electronic health records, policies and procedures, and evidence-based practice guidelines are essential for high-quality care. Yet navigating multiple systems to find the right information can be time-consuming for nurses.

To address this challenge, a multidisciplinary team led by Mayo Clinic's Department of Nursing developed Nurse Virtual Assistant — a first-of-its-kind tool created by Mayo Clinic nurses for nurses. Built entirely in-house, this generative artificial intelligence (AI) solution displays information in a single tab within Mayo Clinic's electronic health record system.

Nurses can access a curated, nurse-specific patient summary with direct links to evidence-based practice resources, such as Lippincott, IV administration guidelines and a clinical policy library — all in one place.

This streamlined view helps nurses spend less time searching for information and more time focusing on what matters most: the patient in front of them.

Watch: Mayo Clinic's Nurse Virtual Assistant

Journalists: A video pkg (2:08) is in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic."

Supporting nurses and human connection

Nurse Virtual Assistant is designed to augment, not replace, the expertise and human connection nurses bring to care. 

"It's an amazing tool," says Nick Flynn, a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Arizona. Flynn finds it valuable that patient data from inpatient stays, outpatient visits and phone calls are summarized. "You have easy access to a history of their illness, and that's available just moments after they arrive," he says.

Nurse-driven innovation

The development of Nurse Virtual Assistant began in 2024 as a strategic effort by Mayo Clinic to ease administrative work in an increasingly complex digital environment. Importantly, nurses have been central to every step of its creation.

Early-access users have helped shape the design and functionality, offering feedback that has guided refinements.

"To see a concept I was passionate about, AI-enhanced communication, actually get built — and to be invited to help shape it — reinforces that frontline nurses' voices matter and that we have the power to influence the future of care," says Brendon Bloomfield, a registered nurse in Psychiatric Acute Care at Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester.

The tool was tested and validated by Mayo Clinic in a research study, which was approved by an Institutional Review Board, before scaling to over 9,600 nurses across inpatient and emergency department units.  

Designed to evolve with nursing practice

The current version is a Minimum Lovable Product — an early solution that goes beyond solving a problem by making the end-user experience central to creating something impactful and engaging. Nurses can submit feedback directly within the tool, ensuring it continues to evolve based on their expertise and day-to-day experience. Examples of feedback that has been received and implemented include functionality requests, search result refinement and content layout.

Built to the highest standards of privacy and information security, Nurse Virtual Assistant is a patent-pending solution developed in strict compliance with HIPAA and all regulatory requirements.

"Nurse virtual assistant is an example of how Mayo Clinic nurses are driving innovation and shaping the future of care," says Ryannon Frederick, Mayo Clinic's chief nursing officer. "By reducing administrative burden, we allow nurses to focus on the most important part of their work: caring for patients with skill, compassion and presence." 

Learn more about nursing at Mayo Clinic.

The post Mayo Clinic nurses lead the way with AI-powered Nurse Virtual Assistant appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genetic test that can help predict how people will respond to weight loss medications such as GLP-1s.

The test estimates an individual's calories to satiation (CTS) — how much food it takes for a person to feel full — and links this biological trait to treatment success. The findings, published in Cell Metabolism, represent a promising step toward more personalized and effective treatments for people living with obesity.

"Patients deserve treatments that reflect their biology, not just their body size," says Andres Acosta, M.D., Ph.D., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. "This test helps us deliver the right medication to the right person from the start."

Beyond body size

Obesity is a chronic, complex disease that affects more than 650 million adults worldwide. It stems from a mix of genetic, environmental and behavioral factors that vary from person to person. This complexity helps explain why people respond differently to weight-loss interventions. Yet treatment decisions often rely on simple measures such as body mass index (BMI) rather than the biological processes that drive weight gain and weight loss.

To uncover these processes, Dr. Acosta has focused on satiation, the physiological signal that tells the body it has eaten enough. In 2021, he and his colleagues defined a series of obesity phenotypes to describe eating patterns. For example, some people with obesity tend to eat very large meals ("hungry brain"), while others may eat average portions but snack frequently throughout the day ("hungry gut").

In this study, the researchers studied satiation in nearly 800 adults with obesity by inviting them to partake in an all-you-can-eat meal of lasagna, pudding and milk until they felt "Thanksgiving full." The results revealed striking variation: Some participants stopped after 140 calories whereas others consumed more than 2,000. On average, men consumed more calories than women.

The team investigated possible explanations for this variability. Several factors, including body weight, height, percentage of body fat, waist-to-hip ratio and age — as well as appetite-related hormones such as ghrelin and leptin — played a small role. But none accounted for the huge range in calorie intake. So the researchers turned to genetics.

Using machine learning, the researchers combined variants in 10 genes known to influence food intake into a single metric called the CTS-GRS (Calories to Satiation Genetic Risk Score). The score, calculated from a blood or saliva sample, provides a personalized estimate of a person's expected satiation threshold.

Matching genes to medications

Mayo Clinic researchers then calculated this CTS-GRS metric in clinical trials of two FDA-approved medications: a first-generation weight loss drug, phentermine-topiramate (brand name Qsymia), and a newer GLP-1 drug, liraglutide (Saxenda). They found that:

• People with a high satiation threshold lost more weight on phentermine-topiramate. This drug may help control portion size and reduce large-meal overeating (hungry brain).
• People with a low satiation threshold responded better to liraglutide. This drug may reduce overall hunger and frequency of eating (hungry gut).

"With one genetic test, we can predict who is most likely to succeed on two different medications," says Dr. Acosta. "That means more cost-effective care and better outcomes for patients."

The team has conducted additional studies to predict response to semaglutide, another GLP-1 medication (sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy), and results are expected soon. They are working to expand the test by incorporating data from the microbiome and metabolome, as well as developing models to predict common side effects such as nausea and vomiting.

Conflict of interest or disclosure: The CTS-GRS technology was licensed to Phenomix Sciences, a Mayo Clinic innovation commercialization partner.  The technology is already being used in 300 clinics in the U.S. 

The post Genetic test predicts response to weight-loss drugs appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new way to predict whether existing drugs could be repurposed to treat heart failure, one of the world’s most pressing health challenges. By combining advanced computer modeling with real-world patient data, the team has created "virtual clinical trials" that may facilitate the discovery of effective therapies while reducing the time, cost, and risk of failed studies.

"We've shown that with our framework, we can predict the clinical effect of a drug without a randomized controlled trial. We can say with high confidence if a drug is likely to succeed or not," says Nansu Zong, Ph.D., a biomedical informatician at Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study, which was published in npj Digital Medicine.

An urgent need

Heart failure affects more than 6 million Americans and is a leading cause of hospitalization and death. Despite decades of research, treatment options remain limited and many clinical trials fail. Traditional drug development is costly and slow, often taking more than a decade and $1 billion to bring a single therapy to market.

Drug repurposing — finding new uses for medicines already approved for other conditions — could offer a faster, less costly pathway. Because the safety of these drugs is already established, researchers can move directly to studying their potential benefits for new diseases. Yet determining which drugs are worth pursuing remains a major challenge.

Dr. Zong led efforts with a multidisciplinary team of experts in biochemistry, molecular pharmacology, cardiovascular medicine and quantitative health sciences to combine two powerful tools: computer models that predict how drugs interact with biological systems, and electronic health records (EHRs) from nearly 60,000 patients with heart failure.

Using these tools, the researchers designed virtual clinical trials — also called trial emulations — that mimic the structure of a randomized clinical trial. Instead of recruiting participants, they used existing patient data to create comparison groups and measure outcomes such as changes in biomarkers that track heart failure progression.

To strengthen the accuracy of these predictions, the team added drug-target modeling, a method that uses AI to analyze chemical structures alongside biological data, such as protein sequences or genes. This addition helped bridge the gap between real-world patient data and traditional randomized trials.

The team tested this approach with 17 drugs that had already been studied in 226 Phase 3 heart failure clinical trials. Seven had shown benefit, while 10 had not. The virtual clinical trials accurately predicted the "direction" of those real-world results.

"This model has the potential to guide drug development pipelines at scale," says Dr. Zong. "Right now, it can tell us the direction of efficacy — whether a drug will be beneficial — but not yet the level of that effect. That's our next step."

Faster, smarter clinical research

By identifying which repurposed drugs are most promising, researchers can prioritize them for further clinical testing and focus resources where success is most likely. That could mean faster access to therapies for patients and lower costs for healthcare systems.

Originally developed as an AI-enabled framework for virtual clinical trials, this technology has now led to a broader initiative within Mayo Clinic under the guidance of Cui Tao, Ph.D., the Nancy Peretsman and Robert Scully Chair of Department of Artificial Intelligence and Informatics and vice president of Mayo Clinic Platform Informatics. The new effort is exploring three complementary approaches:

• Trial emulation — replicating the design and analysis of a completed or hypothetical trial using real-world data to validate findings or generate evidence
• Trial simulation — creating a mock trial with real-world data to estimate how an existing treatment would perform in a different population or for a new indication
• Synthetic trials — constructing a trial that replaces or augments one or more arms with real-world or modeled patient data

"Clinical trials will always remain essential," says Dr. Tao. "But this innovation demonstrates how AI can make research more efficient, affordable and broadly accessible. Integrating trial emulation, simulation, synthetic trials and biomedical knowledge modeling opens the door to a new paradigm in translational science."

Looking ahead, these innovations could become an integral part of Mayo Clinic's enterprise strategy. They could support Mayo's strategic efforts such as Precure by advancing proactive risk prediction and prevention and Genesis by informing intelligent transplant care delivery and personalized interventions.

The post ‘Virtual clinical trials’ may predict success of heart failure drugs appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

After a career dedicated to caring for patients with cancer, Nancy Drourr expected retirement to be the start of a new chapter. However, when troubling health issues emerged, she had to put her plans on hold.

Nancy turned to Mayo Clinic, where a care team uncovered a rare and complex disease called sarcoidosis. Now, with answers, Nancy has resumed the pursuit of a lifelong goal and wrote a letter to her care team thanking them for giving her hope.

Watch: Science of angels': A mother's thankful letter for team who diagnosed rare disease

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (2:13) is in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

"I invested in a very rewarding career taking care of cancer patients. I believed that a big part of my life included service above self," says Nancy.

After retiring in 2022, Nancy noticed changes in her health. A lingering rash, fatigue and short-term memory challenges led to two years of tests and appointments with physicians near her home in Tampa, Florida.

"Being a patient was a new position for me," says Nancy. "I took care of patients, and I take care of people. I felt I needed more support than what I was getting."

When bloodwork in 2024 suggested Nancy may have a severe kidney condition, she turned to Mayo Clinic.

"When I saw the MRI and the results, there was a concerning finding, which was bone lesions and spleen lesions, and to the radiologist, it was concerning," says Dr. Fouad Chebib, a Mayo Clinic nephrologist. "We needed to figure out in a timely manner the source, if it's cancer, but otherwise it could be an infectious process or other autoimmune disease."

Sarcoidosis diagnosis

A biopsy ruled out cancer, but did confirm a diagnosis of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that affects approximately 200,000 people in the U.S.

"In the case of Nancy, it was quite severe with multiple organs being involved, from skin to bone to spleen to many other organs, and it significantly affected her life," says Dr. Chebib.

Treatment plan

While there is no known cure for sarcoidosis, Nancy's care team, including experts in rheumatology, oncology, infectious diseases and other areas, developed a treatment plan to manage her disease.

"It was within my power now to navigate this disease and not give up on the things that brought me such joy in this life," says Nancy. "Dr. Chebib was my angel, and he made sure I had everything I needed to get answers."

"I'm passionate about making sure that the disease does not dictate the lives of my patients, getting to the bottom of the problem, and making sure we get the answers to things that potentially have not been answered elsewhere," says Dr. Chebib.

Nancy receives weekly treatment and regular follow-ups to measure progress. She's also given more thought to her textile design business. The dream influenced by her grandmother decades ago was put on hold to focus on her health. 

Nancy's journey also inspired her to write a letter to her care team titled "The Science of Angels," in which she shares her gratitude for the diagnosis and treatment options.

"I will forever remember how deeply the science of angels impacted my life and those of my loving sons," Nancy reads. "Thank you for instilling hope and a medical path forward in the treatment of my rare and complex disease."

The post (VIDEO) ‘Science of angels’: A mother’s thankful letter for team who diagnosed rare disease appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new Mayo Clinic study finds that many heart attacks in people under 65 — especially women — are caused by factors other than clogged arteries, challenging long-standing assumptions about how heart attacks occur in younger populations.

Study findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology examined over 15 years of data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, providing the most comprehensive population evaluation of heart attack causes in people aged 65 and younger.

More than half of heart attacks in women under age 65 were caused by nontraditional factors, such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), embolism and other conditions unrelated to artery-clogging plaque. Heart attack incidence was significantly lower in women than in men — but when women did have heart attacks, the underlying causes were often misdiagnosed.

SCAD, which typically affects younger, otherwise healthy women, was frequently missed and misclassified as a typical heart attack due to plaque buildup. The most common cause of heart attack in both sexes was atherosclerosis, or artery-clogging plaque, but this accounted for only 47% of heart attacks in women, compared to 75% in men. Five-year mortality rates were highest in people who had heart attacks triggered by stressors such as anemia or infection, even though these patients had lower heart injury levels.

"This research shines a spotlight on heart attack causes that have historically been under-recognized, particularly in women," says Claire Raphael, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., an interventional cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and first author of the study. "When the root cause of a heart attack is misunderstood, it can lead to treatments that are less effective — or even harmful."

This new understanding could save lives. A misdiagnosed SCAD, for example, may be treated with a stent unnecessarily, increasing the risk of complications. Recognizing and correctly diagnosing these nontraditional heart attacks allows for more appropriate care and better long-term outcomes.

Key findings from the study:

• Out of 1,474 heart attacks, 68% were from typical plaque buildup (traditional heart disease), but nontraditional causes made up a majority of heart attacks in women.
• SCAD was nearly 6 times more common in women than men.
• Heart attacks caused by stressors such as anemia or an infection were the second-most common cause overall, and the deadliest, with a five-year mortality rate of 33%.
• Truly unexplained heart attacks were rare, making up less than 3% of cases after expert review.

Overall, the study provides insights that could reshape how heart attacks are diagnosed and managed in younger adults.

"Our research highlights the larger need to rethink how we approach heart attacks in this patient population, and for younger adult women, in particular. Clinicians must sharpen their awareness of conditions like SCAD, embolism and stress-related triggers, and patients should advocate for answers when something doesn't feel right," says Rajiv Gulati, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Division of Interventional Cardiology and Ischemic Heart Disease at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Gulati is senior author of the study.

"Understanding why a heart attack happened is just as important as treating it," says Dr. Raphael. "It can mean the difference between recovery and recurrence."

###

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Terri Malloy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic study reveals hidden causes of heart attacks in younger adults, especially women appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A decade after opening, the Mayo Clinic Proton Therapy Program­ in Rochester, Minnesota, has treated 10,000 patients. Annually, the program treats 30%–40% more patients than most comparable centers in the country. And, with new technology and facility expansions, it will soon be able to treat nearly 75% more patients each year with even more precise and effective therapies.

Nadia Laack, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and Anita Mahajan, M.D., radiation oncologist and medical director of Mayo Clinic’s particle therapy center, discuss how Mayo is using tomorrow's standard of care today.

A bold step toward precision and efficiency

Mayo Clinic took a bold step by launching its program in 2015 with pencil beam scanning — an ultranarrow beam that conforms its radiation dose to the shape of the tumor. This allowed a focus on accuracy for complex tumors, many of which were considered untreatable due to their location.

Mayo Clinic, with technology vendors, has continued to elevate this therapy by developing precise tracking technology such as its custom eye-tracking device for melanoma of the eye.

The team's high level of fine-tuning extends to its scheduling. "Most proton systems have one accelerator for four rooms, treating only one at a time," explains Dr. Mahajan. "A patient could be set up in their room, but waiting an hour."

To solve this, Dr. Mahajan helped develop a system that radiation therapists use to communicate and coordinate beam use to minimize patient wait time and discomfort and allow more patients to be treated.

Locking in on a moving target

Heartbeats and breathing create constant movement in the body, making chest and abdominal tumors a moving target and previously impossible to treat safely.

"With our colleagues in Arizona and the vendor, we developed a way to track lung tumors to ensure the beam only turns on when it's within target," says Dr. Laack.

This technology helped extend proton beam therapy's effectiveness beyond cancer.

"Cardiac ablation with proton beam is an example of how we've taken everything to the next level," says Dr. Laack. "Our physicists and the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine developed tools that now allow us to confidently and accurately deliver radiation doses to the heart."

Automating an improved patient experience

Mobility restrictions and constant adjustment can be uncomfortable and time-consuming for patients. They can slow down treatment. Regular bodily functions, including gas, bowel movements and fluid retention, also require ongoing rescanning and radiation plan adjustments for treatment accuracy.

Plan adjustments previously delayed treatment by several days. Automation has helped reduce turnaround time to just one day.

"It's remarkable to have next-day planning because of automation," adds Dr. Laack. "But we can imagine a future where patients lie down comfortably, and we scan and treat them with a custom plan tailored to their current anatomy."

Building on a future-ready foundation

Mayo Clinic is amid a leap forward in heavy particle therapy, decades in the making.

"For 20 years, we've studied data and deepened our understanding of tumor genetics so we could offer the most comprehensive treatment portfolio," says Dr. Laack.

This commitment manifested in the June 2025 opening of the Duan Family Building in Jacksonville, Florida. The building will house the first carbon ion therapy facility in the Americas and introduce powerful radiation delivery for complex and proton-beam- resistant tumors.

In August 2025, the Andersen Building in Rochester also reached a major milestone, adding 360-degree gantry technology that delivers proton beam within a millimeter of accuracy and real-time CT imaging to enable faster, more precise treatment for nearly twice as many patients.

"It's an engineering marvel that represents innovation, collaboration and hope," says Dr. Laack. "It's the promise that every patient who walks through our doors will receive the most precise, personalized and compassionate care available anywhere in the world."

###

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and to providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Brittany Cordeiro, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post 10 years, 10,000 lives: Mayo experts highlight the journey and future of proton beam and particle therapy at Mayo Clinic appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Mayo Clinic is No. 1 on Newsweek's list of "World's Best Smart Hospitals" and has seven No. 1 rankings in "World's Best Specialized Hospitals."

Mayo Clinic in Rochester has been named the No. 1 smart hospital in the world by Newsweek's "World's Best Smart Hospitals 2026" and earned more No. 1 specialty rankings than any other hospital in Newsweek's "World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2026" list.

World's Best Smart Hospitals

The "World's Best Smart Hospitals" rankings recognize 350 healthcare organizations from 30 countries that lead in digital innovation. Mayo Clinic was recognized for its use of artificial intelligence, patient safety technologies, telemedicine and robotics.

Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Mayo Clinic in Florida and Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, were also recognized in the rankings.

"These hospitals are leaders in innovation in the medical industry, implementing systemic changes that will take patient care into the future," Newsweek says. 

Visit the Newsweek's World's Best Smart Hospitals 2026 website to learn more.

World's Best Specialized Hospitals

This year's "World's Best Specialized Hospitals" list highlights hospitals excelling in 12 medical specialties — the top 300 in cardiology and oncology; the top 250 in pediatrics; the top 150 in cardiac surgery, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, orthopedics and pulmonology; and the top 125 in neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology and urology.

For the first time, Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont, Minnesota, has earned a place on this ranking list, recognized specifically in Pulmonology. While Fairmont's debut is in a single specialty, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Mayo Clinic in Florida, Mayo Clinic in Rochester and Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire have experienced gains in their rankings across specialties since last year. Specifically, Mayo Clinic in Florida has improved its ranking in all 12 specialties, Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire in seven, Mayo Clinic in Arizona in six, and Mayo Clinic in Rochester in four. 

Visit Newsweek's World's Best Specialized Hospitals 2026 website to learn more.

More information

Mayo Clinic is the medical center most recognized as a top choice by many ranking organizations. Many agencies rate quality in healthcare. Mayo Clinic is the only healthcare organization that consistently ranks among the top providers worldwide, regardless of the quality measures used.

The post Mayo Clinic named Newsweek’s ‘World’s Best Smart Hospital’ appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've heard that ovarian cancer is hard to detect. Can you tell me more about the symptoms and if there are any screenings?

ANSWER: Ovarian cancer is relatively rare. However, it's often fatal in later stages of the disease. The cancer begins in the ovaries and spreads to the abdomen and pelvis if it isn't diagnosed and treated early. It primarily affects older women; about half of those diagnosed are age 63 or older.

Here are some statistics for ovarian cancer:

• In the U.S., it's the second-most common female reproductive organ cancer after uterine cancer.
• The risk of getting ovarian cancer in a woman's lifetime is about 1 in 91. Nearly 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year.
• Roughly 250 women die of this disease each week.
• Even though uterine cancer is 3 times more common, the number of women dying from ovarian cancer each year is almost the same (around 13,000 deaths). This death rate points to the difficulty of detecting this aggressive form of cancer.

Recognizing the symptoms

As with any cancer, early diagnosis of ovarian cancer can improve the chances of successful treatment. If you are experiencing these symptoms, see your healthcare clinician:

• Quickly feeling full when eating
• Abdominal bloating or swelling
• Weight loss
• Frequent need to urinate
• Changes in bowel habits
• Discomfort in the pelvic area

Understanding the risk factors

A family history of ovarian cancer and personal factors can increase your risk of ovarian cancer, including:

• Obesity
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Personal history of cancer or endometriosis
• Increasing age or reproductive history and infertility

Some factors that can decrease your risk include:

• Oral contraceptive use
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes
• Hysterectomy or tubal ligation
  

Detecting ovarian cancer

There are well-established screening programs for certain cancers, such as breast, colon and cervical cancer, which can help prevent these cancers from developing. Screening also can detect cancer at an early stage when treatments are more effective.

Unfortunately, there isn't a universal screening program for ovarian cancer. That's because testing options often lead to high rates of false-positive and false-negative results. Also, ovarian cancer doesn't predictably develop precancerous cells, and it's difficult to get tissue samples from the ovaries.

The most relevant tools for finding ovarian cancer are imaging tests, such as an ultrasound, and tumor markers that can be found in the blood, such as cancer antigen 125, or CA 125.

Ultrasounds are good at identifying cysts or other masses growing on the ovaries. The challenging part is that these masses are quite common, and most are not cancers. While the appearance of an ovarian mass can give some clues about its chance of being cancerous, with an ultrasound, it's often difficult to tell the difference between masses that are cancers and those that aren't.

What is CA 125?

CA 125 is a protein in the blood that can be elevated when ovarian cancers are present. However, it also can be elevated with other conditions, such as menstruation, uterine fibroids and endometriosis, leading to false-positive results. 

Early detection is the goal of a good screening program, but CA 125 can miss a significant number of early-stage ovarian cancers.

Ultrasounds and CA 125 tests have been evaluated as potential screening tools. Unfortunately, they can't consistently detect ovarian cancer early enough to improve patient outcomes. They also have a high false-positive result rate, increasing the risk of unnecessary stress, anxiety and surgery.

However, in some situations, these tests are used to screen for ovarian cancer, such as in patients with genetic mutations that put them at high risk for cancer and in patients previously treated for ovarian cancer.

By Sandeep Basu, M.D., Breast Cancer Care, Hematology and Oncology, Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Related post:

• Mayo Clinic researchers capture first signs of ovarian cancer risk

The post Mayo Clinic Q&A: Get the facts on ovarian cancer appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

At the first U.S. 'Undiagnosed Hackathon,' scientists from around the world will team up at Mayo Clinic to solve unsolved medical mysteries. 

Young Julian Limon clutches his blanket wherever he goes, a source of comfort during hospital stays, procedures and tests. At 17 months, he has not yet reached walking or talking milestones. His brittle hair and unexplained neurological symptoms compound his challenges. He has endured pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses, and his weak immune system leaves him vulnerable. Despite extensive evaluations and genetic testing, Julian's condition remains a mystery.

This September, Julian's family will travel to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to take part in the Undiagnosed Hackathon, a global effort to solve rare diseases that have long gone unexplained. 

The Hackathon was inspired by Helene and Mikk Cederroth, founders of the Wilhelm Foundation, who lost two young sons and a daughter to an undiagnosed condition. Their grief became a call to action. Over the past two decades, they've built a global network of scientists, clinicians and advocates committed to finding answers. 

An unprecedented collaboration

Over three days at Mayo Clinic, more than 125 scientists, clinicians and AI experts will gather for the first U.S.-based Undiagnosed Hackathon. They will come from 30 countries across six continents. Their goal: to uncover answers for Julian and 28 others whose conditions have eluded diagnosis. 

Having families in person at the Hackathon allows researchers to observe traits and ask questions that data alone can't capture. 

"If you put a molecular biologist next to a bioinformatician next to a clinician who have come from different parts of the world, each will bring a unique lens to the same investigation shaped by their training and lived experience," Dr. Klee says. "That's how breakthroughs happen." 

Unlocking hidden clues with advanced tools 

Among the international team are Mayo Clinic's Dr. Cherisse Marcou, assistant professor and co-director of the Clinical Genomics laboratory, and Dr. Eric Klee, the Everett J. and Jane M. Hauck Midwest Associate Director of Research and Innovation. After participating in last year’s Undiagnosed Hackathon in the Netherlands, they return with momentum to co-lead this year’s event. 

Working with global colleagues, they’ll explore DNA, RNA and other signals using tools that reveal what standard tests can miss. This includes examining long DNA stretches, studying RNA to see which genes are active and identifying chemical changes that turn genes on or off — a process called methylation.

This complex approach, known as omics, combines layers of biological information to better understand how the body works and why disease occurs. Bringing multiple omics together is more like a moving picture than a still photo, where hidden patterns emerge. Artificial intelligence will help scientists integrate these layers and interpret the results.

Breaking silos to spark breakthroughs 

"I come from a place where many families are not afforded the access to the latest and greatest diagnostic testing options in their diagnostic journey," Dr. Marcou says. "To be part of something that brings hope worldwide is deeply personal."

The idea behind the Hackathon is bringing people together who might not otherwise work side by side. 

"If you put a molecular biologist next to a bioinformatician next to a clinician who have come from different parts of the world, each will bring a unique lens to the same investigation shaped by their training and lived experience," Dr. Klee says. "That's how breakthroughs happen." 

Fueled by passion, and personal connection 

Now in its third year, the Hackathon has become a global engine for rare disease discovery. The Cederroths have co-led every one. 

"They've poured their lives into this mission," Dr. Marcou says. "Their energy is transformative. You leave the Hackathon changed." 

For Dr. Marcou, the work is personal. She grew up in the Bahamas, where access to advanced diagnostics is limited. 

"I come from a place where many families are not afforded the access to the latest and greatest diagnostic testing options in their diagnostic journey," she says. "To be part of something that brings hope worldwide is deeply personal." 

Dr. Marcou clinically interprets and decodes genomic data to deliver real-time insights for patients every day and has been involved in the development of AI tools at Mayo Clinic to advance this work. Dr. Klee, a leader in rare disease research, is building the Research Data Atlas to accelerate discoveries by unifying Mayo Clinic's extensive research data. 

Hope for families, and ripple effects worldwide

The Hackathon's goal is ambitious: solve as many cases as possible. Last year, 10 of 26 participants received diagnoses, with promising leads for nine more. One person's diagnosis can also unlock recognition, testing and potential treatment options for others with the same condition. 

"Our ultimate goal is to find answers for all our participants. That said, if we can find an answer for even one person, that would be amazing. If we find answers for 10 or 12 participants, that would be incredible," Dr. Klee says. "And for the participants where a clear answer eludes us, we hope to find strong leads that guide future research and testing for others." 

The Hackathon doesn't end when the event does. The findings must be clinically confirmed before they become diagnoses. For those who receive answers, the next goal is treatment, if one exists. For cases that remain unsolved, the work continues. 

It's also a powerful exchange of knowledge. Collaborators from places with fewer resources gain exposure to advanced techniques, while all experts have the opportunity to learn new approaches from those working alongside them. 

"It's peer-to-peer learning at its best," Dr. Marcou says. "We're all better for it." 

Julian's diagnostic journey

Even after long days of doctor visits and tests, Julian still breaks into bright smiles. He is working with physical therapists to build strength as his family continues to hope for a diagnosis. 

"I feel incredibly grateful that we'll have so many experts looking closely at Julian," says his mother, Jasmine Limon. "I just want to know what we're facing so we can give him the best possible care." 

At its heart, the Hackathon is where some of the world's brightest minds gather around families like Julian's, determined to give all they can and to open new doors in medicine. 

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