Until the last quarter of the 20th century, sex was not recognized as a variable in health research, nor was it believed to be a factor that could affect health and illness. Researchers preferred studying male models for a variety of reasons, such as simplicity, lower costs, hormone confounding effects, and fear of liability from perinatal exposure in case of pregnancy. Equitable representation is imperative for determining the safety, effectiveness, and tolerance of therapeutic agents for all consumers. Decades of female models’ underrepresentation in preclinical studies has resulted in inequality in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease between the sexes. Sex bias has been highlighted as one of the contributing factors to the poor translation and replicability of preclinical research. There have been multiple calls for action, and the inclusion of sex as a biological variable is increasingly supported. However, although there has been substantial progress in the efforts to include more female models in preclinical studies, disparities today remain. In the present review, we consider the current standard practice of the preclinical research setting, why the sex bias exists, why there is the need to include female models, and what risks may arise from continuing this exclusion from experimental design.

Phytotherapy has been used since ancient times for the treatment of many diseases, one of the fields of greatest use is oncology. Thus, patients use herbal medicines to counteract the side effects of chemotherapy, however these remedies, although natural, can lead to interactions if taken simultaneously with other medicines. The aim of the study was to identify interactions that may arise in the intake of oral chemotherapy in conjunction with phytotherapeutic substances This was a retrospective and descriptive study conducted among lung cancer patients actively undergoing chemotherapy. Data collection was conducted through the distribution to patients of a self-compiled and closed-ended questionnaires during chemotherapy treatment. Data relating to 35 patients were collected and interviews were collected for a total of 66 accesses to the facility. It was found that 69% take at least one phytotherapeutic substance. Among the most used substances we found green tea, 26% of accesses, and ginger, 30% of accesses. Some statistically significant comparisons were between chamomile and mucositis intake, turmeric and epigastric pain and sex differences considering diarrhea and headache. Obtained data confirmed that phytotherapics can increase the toxicities caused by chemotherapy.