Ovarian Cancer Risk Factors in African-American and White Women

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy in both African-American and white women. Although prevalences of many ovarian cancer risk factors differ markedly between African Americans and whites, there has been little research on how the relative contributions of risk factors may vary between racial/ethnic groups. Using data from a North Carolina case-control study (1999-2008), the authors conducted unconditional logistic regression analyses to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for ovarian cancer risk factors in African-American (143 cases, 189 controls) and white (943 cases, 868 controls) women and to test for interactions by race/ethnicity. They also calculated attributable fractions within each racial/ethnic group for the modifiable factors of pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, tubal ligation, and body mass index. Many risk factors showed similar relations across racial/ethnic groups, but tubal ligation and family history of breast or ovarian cancer showed stronger associations among African Americans. Younger age at menarche was associated with risk only in white women. Attributable fractions associated with tubal ligation, oral contraceptive use, and obesity were markedly higher for African Americans. The relative importance of ovarian cancer risk factors may differ for African-American women, but conclusions were limited by the small sample. There is a clear need for further research on etiologic factors for ovarian cancer in African-American women.

Onset of Breast Development in a Longitudinal Cohort

“…31,32 It is unclear if these adverse psychosocial outcomes associated with early maturation will be sustained when many girls mature at a younger age. The biologic impact of earlier maturation includes greater risk of several cancers, including breast, 33 ovarian, 34 and endometrial cancer, 35 as well as obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension. 36 The increased risk of cancer with earlier maturation might be mediated by the increased risk of obesity (reviewed by Renehan et al), 37 or through the association of early maturation with greater peak height velocity, 38,39 or longer exposure to endogenous estrogen production.…”

Fast-food outlets and walkability in school neighbourhoods predict fatness in boys and height in girls: a Taiwanese population study

“…Although girls typically become taller and reach puberty earlier than boys (boys catch up in later adolescence), the possibility of advancing pubescence by way of a high FS environment is a serious concern. Earlier onset of pubertal milestones has been linked to risk of breast cancer, apart from other types of diseases (27,28) ; however, some studies have challenged this association (29,30) . Although obesity does not appear to induce precocious puberty in boys (31) , it often precedes chronic diseases in adulthood.…”

Body Mass Index Effects on Risk of Ovarian Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

“…No Figure 1) including 10 cohort studies (Engeland et al, 2003;Schouten et al, 2003;Anderson et al, 2004;Niwa et al, 2005;Lacey Jr et al, 2006;Leitzmann et al, 2009;Chionh et al, 2010;Kotsopoulos et al, 2010;Lahmann et al, 2010;Weiderpass et al, 2012) involving 29,237,219 person-years and 9 case-control studies (Riman et al, 2001;Kuper et al, 2002;Beehler et al, 2006;Peterson et al, 2006;Nagle et al, 2008;Olsen et al, 2008;Wernli et al, 2008;Delort et al, 2009;Moorman et al, 2009) involving 96,965 people (Table 1). …”