Etiology, biology, and epidemiology of ovarian cancer

Our plain-English summary of Etiology, biology, and epidemiology of ovarian cancer, by T.R. Baker, M.S. Piver (Seminars in Surgical Oncology, 1994).

The study

• Authors: T.R. Baker, M.S. Piver
• Journal: Seminars in Surgical Oncology
• Published: 1994;10(4):242-8
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 31 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Epithelial ovarian cancer kills more women per year than all other gynecologic cancers combined. Pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, and tubal ligation decrease the risk of the disease, whereas risk is increased for women whose family history is consistent with one of the familial ovarian cancer syndromes. Several theories have been postulated concerning the etiology of ovarian cancer, including the incessant ovulation theory and that based on the model of hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. Chromosomal abnormalities and allele losses have been described in ovarian cancers. Involvement of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes has been investigated as well. Genetic linkage studies are ongoing in families whose history is consistent with one of the familial ovarian cancer syndromes.

In plain English

This article was a review, not a new study. The authors summarized published research on the causes, biology and occurrence of epithelial ovarian cancer, including environmental, dietary, reproductive and hereditary factors. They wrote that asbestos and talc were the two main chemicals implicated, and described a hypothesis that asbestos-contaminated talcum powder used in the genital area could migrate up the genital tract to the ovaries. The article presented no data on asbestos exposure. It cited other researchers' talc studies. One reported a relative risk of 1.9 with perineal talc exposure. Another reported 4.8 (95% CI 1.3-17.8) for talc use on sanitary napkins. A third did not show a strong association (relative risk 1.4, P = 0.06). The authors concluded that further study was needed before the role of talc was known. They also summarized an earlier report from their own familial ovarian cancer registry. In it, oral contraceptive use was more frequent among index cases without ovarian cancer (104 women, 73.1%) than among index cases with ovarian cancer (49 women, 46.2%).

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of published research on ovarian cancer. It also summarizes previously reported data from the authors' Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry.
• Who was studied: Published studies of epithelial ovarian cancer. Also the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, which held 2,409 cases in 1,002 families through 1992. The registry's most recent report described 658 families and 1,568 patients.
• Exposure: Asbestos and talc, including asbestos-contaminated talcum powder used in the genital area. These were discussed alongside dietary, reproductive, endocrine and hereditary factors. No asbestos fiber type is named.
• Main results:
  • Cited study (Cramer et al.): relative risk of 1.9 (P less than 0.003) for ovarian cancer associated with perineal talc exposure.
  • Cited study (Rosenblatt et al.): relative risk of 4.8 (95% CI 1.3-17.8) for talc use on sanitary napkins.
  • Cited study (Whittemore et al.): this study failed to show a strong association between genital talc exposure and ovarian cancer (RR 1.4, P = 0.06).
  • Authors' registry (earlier report): 104 index cases without ovarian cancer (73.1%) had used oral contraceptives, compared with 49 index cases with ovarian cancer (46.2%) (P less than 0.001).
  • Authors' registry: for 219 affected mothers, mean and median age at diagnosis was 58.6 and 57 years. For 251 affected daughters it was 49.9 and 49 years (P less than 0.001).
• The authors' conclusion: On talc, the authors concluded that further study is needed before its precise role as a cause of ovarian cancer is known.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Ovarian cancer, Talc and vermiculite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Etiology, Epidemiology, Ovarian Cancer, Tumor Suppressor Gene.

Related studies

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• Perineal talc use and ovarian cancer risk: a case study of scientific standards in environmental epidemiology — M. Huncharek, J. Muscat (2011)
• Geographic Co-Occurrence of Mesothelioma and Ovarian Cancer Incidence — S.J. Henley, L.A. Peipins, et al. (2020)
• Perineal talc exposure and epithelial ovarian cancer risk in the Central Valley of California — P.K. Mills, D.G. Riordan, et al. (2004)
• Perineal talc use and ovarian cancer: a critical review — J.E. Muscat, M.S. Huncharek (2008)
• Ovarian Cancer and "Tainted Talc": What Treating Physicians Need to Know — R. Casey, T.P. Larkin (2019)

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