Determinants of ovarian cancer risk. I. Reproductive experiences and family history
Cramer, D.W.; Hutchison, G.B.; Welch, W.R.; Scully, R.E.; Ryan, K.J.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 71(4): 711-716
1983
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-8874 PMID: 6578366 Document Number: 210461
Reproductive experiences and family history were assessed in 215 white females with epithelial ovarian cancer and in 215 control women matched by age, race and residence. Pregnancy exerted a strong protective effect against ovarian cancer, which increased with the number of live-born children. After adjustment for parity, an effect of age at 1st-live birth and breast-feeding was not apparent. Menstrual events did not differ significantly between cases and controls, although cases were more likely to have had an earlier menopause and less likely to have had a surgical menopause. Women with ovarian cancer had more frequently used menopausal hormones in cyclic fashion compared to controls. Regarding family history, women with ovarian cancer more frequently reported consanguinity in their ancestry and a higher frequency of primary relatives with cancers of the colon, lung, ovary and prostate gland.