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A prospective study of reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use in relation to ovarian cancer risk among Black women

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Abstract

Purpose

Extensive data in White women have linked oral contraceptive use, tubal ligation, and parity to reduced risk of ovarian cancer; results on postmenopausal female hormone use are mixed. Few studies, all of which are case–control studies, have been undertaken among Black women. The aim of the present study was to prospectively assess associations of reproductive factors and exogenous hormones with ovarian cancer among Black women.

Methods

During follow-up from 1995 to 2013 in the Black Women’s Health Study, a prospective cohort study, 115 incident cases of ovarian cancer were identified. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the relation of the factors of interest to risk of ovarian cancer, with control for covariates.

Result

Oral contraceptive use was inversely associated with ovarian cancer risk: The HR for ≥10 years of use relative to <1 year was 0.50 (95% CI 0.30–0.98). For postmenopausal female hormone use, the HRs for ever use of estrogen with progestin and of estrogen alone were 1.37 (0.73–2.55) and 1.66 (0.90–3.07), respectively. The HRs for parity and tubal ligation were below 1.0, but were not statistically significant.

Conclusion

Overall, the findings indicate that the relation of reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use to risk of ovarian cancer is similar among Black and White women. The results on estrogen-only supplements and estrogen with progestin supplements add to evidence from Whites, indicating that use of hormone supplements may be associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (R01CA058420, UM1CA164974) and does not necessarily represent the views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health. Data on ovarian cancer cases were obtained from 24 state cancer registries (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia), and these results do not necessarily represent their views. The authors gratefully acknowledge the BWHS participants and staff.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Traci N. Bethea, Julie R. Palmer & Lynn Rosenberg

  2. Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany St. E-113, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Traci N. Bethea

  3. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, 1000 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington, DC, 20003, USA

    Lucile L. Adams-Campbell

Authors
  1. Traci N. Bethea
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  2. Julie R. Palmer
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  4. Lynn Rosenberg
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Correspondence to Traci N. Bethea.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Bethea, T.N., Palmer, J.R., Adams-Campbell, L.L. et al. A prospective study of reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use in relation to ovarian cancer risk among Black women. Cancer Causes Control 28, 385–391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-016-0840-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-016-0840-4

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