Study links obesity to elevated risk of ovarian cancer

Among the many studies researchers are doing to understand ovarian cancer risks, some are looking at the relationship between obesity and ovarian cancer.

In a study, published in the most recent issue of the journal CANCER, researchers write that obesity may be a contributing factor to developing the cancer, with hormones playing the deciding factor.

According to a recently issued press release:

To investigate this issue, Dr. Michael F. Leitzmann of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues studied 94,525 U.S. women aged 50 to 71 years over a period of seven years. The researchers documented 303 ovarian cancer cases during this time and noted that among women who had never taken hormones after menopause, obesity was associated with an almost 80 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer. In contrast, no link between body weight and ovarian cancer was evident for women who had ever used menopausal hormone therapy.

Among women with no family history of ovarian cancer, obesity and increased ovarian cancer risk were also linked in this study. However, women that did have a positive family history of ovarian cancer showed no association between body mass and ovarian cancer risk.

These latest findings provide important additional information related to women’s risks of developing ovarian cancer. "The observed relations between obesity and ovarian cancer risk have relevance for public health programs aimed at reducing obesity in the population," the authors wrote.

This is interesting work. Hopefully they will be able to narrow things down in the not so distant future.

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Tags: cancer blog, ovarian cancer, obesity and ovarian cancer