Reproductive Factors and Ovarian Cancer Risk in African American Women
A partir de données portant sur 641 patientes afro-américaines atteintes d'un cancer de l'ovaire et sur 752 témoins, cette étude évalue l'association entre des facteurs reproductifs (contraception orale, caractéristiques liées à la grossesse, allaitement) et le risque de la maladie
Purpose : Reproductive characteristics, the most established ovarian cancer risk factors, differ markedly between African American and White women. Studies in predominantly White populations suggest that associations between reproductive characteristics and ovarian cancer vary by timing of the events and menopause status. This analysis examined associations between number, duration and timing of reproductive events and epithelial ovarian cancer among African American women. Methods : Data from a multi-center case-control study of ovarian cancer in African American women (641 cases/752 controls) were used to examine associations with oral contraceptive use and pregnancy characteristics. Odds ratios(OR) and 95% confidence intervals(CI) associated with reproductive characteristics were calculated with logistic regression models. Results : Oral contraceptive use (OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.5-0.9), parity (OR=0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.6) and breastfeeding for >12 months (OR=0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.5) were inversely associated with ovarian cancer. More recent pregnancies and oral contraceptive use had stronger associations with ovarian cancer than pregnancies or oral contraceptive use that occurred earlier in life, especially among pre-menopausal women. Conclusions : This study provides the first thorough documentation that pregnancy, breastfeeding and oral contraceptive use are inversely associated with ovarian cancer in African American women, similar to what has been observed in White women. The associations with timing of the exposures suggest that these factors have both short and long-term effects.