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Risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among women with benign ovarian tumors: a follow-up study

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Abstract

Purpose

The importance of benign ovarian tumors as precursors or risk markers for ovarian cancer is not fully understood. Studies on the association between benign ovarian tumors and ovarian cancer have provided inconclusive results. We examined the overall and histological type-specific risk of ovarian cancer among 158,221 Danish women diagnosed with a benign ovarian tumor during 1978–2016.

Methods

The study cohort was linked to the Danish Cancer Register to identify all cases of epithelial ovarian cancer, and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.

Results

After excluding the first year of follow-up, women with benign ovarian tumors did not have an increased risk for overall epithelial ovarian cancer (SIR 1.02; 95% CI 0.93–1.11), as compared with women in the general population. However, we found an increased risk for mucinous ovarian cancer (SIR 2.06; 95% CI 1.67–2.52); both solid and cystic benign ovarian tumors were associated with an increased risk. The risk for mucinous ovarian cancer was increased irrespective of the age at benign ovarian tumors diagnosis and persisted for up to 20 years after the benign ovarian tumor diagnosis. No clear associations for other histological types of ovarian cancer were observed, except for an increased risk for serous ovarian cancer among women diagnosed with benign ovarian tumors at an young age.

Conclusions

Benign ovarian tumors may be associated with long-term increased risk for mucinous ovarian cancer.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Minna Ghasemi and Lea Elsborg Hansen Olsen for data management.

Funding

This research was supported by Mermaid (Mermaid III).

Author information

Author notes

  1. This manuscript has shared first authorship; Sonia Guleria and Allan Jensen have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Virus, Lifestyle and Genes, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Sonia Guleria, Allan Jensen & Susanne K. Kjaer

  2. National Centre for Register-Based Research, Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Anita Toender

  3. The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark

    Anita Toender

  4. Centre for Integrated Register-Based Research (CIRRAU), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Anita Toender

  5. Department of Gynecology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Susanne K. Kjaer

Authors
  1. Sonia Guleria
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  2. Allan Jensen
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  4. Susanne K. Kjaer
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Correspondence to Allan Jensen.

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Guleria, S., Jensen, A., Toender, A. et al. Risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among women with benign ovarian tumors: a follow-up study. Cancer Causes Control 31, 25–31 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-019-01245-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-019-01245-4

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