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Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
Posted: Monday, March 10, 2025
Citing a scarcity of data on ovarian cancer risk in Asian women, a team of researchers conducted a study evaluating a range of reproductive and hormone-related factors in relation to epithelial ovarian cancer risk in Asian populations. Melissa A. Merritt, PhD, of the University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues found that higher menopausal age was associated with a higher risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among Asian women, whereas parity was inversely associated with risk of developing the disease. The researchers’ findings were published in the British Journal of Cancer.
“Epithelial ovarian cancer risk factors have been extensively studied, but previous study populations mostly represented White women with European ancestry,” the investigators noted. “To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale study of a range of risk factors in an Asian population, which has historically reported low incidence rates of [the disease] as compared to other parts of the world.”
A total of 325,626 women from four Asian countries were included in the study, drawn from 11 prospective cohorts included in the Asia Cohort Consortium (baseline years ranging from 1958 to 2015). After a mean 17 years of follow-up (standard deviation = 6.3 years), 674 incident invasive epithelial ovarian cancer cases were identified. In multivariable adjusted models, the researchers observed an inverse association with parity (5 or more children vs 0; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.28–0.68; P < 0.001) and a positive association with increasing menopausal age (≥ 55 vs < 45; HR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.05–3.01; P = 0.02) for risk of the disease.
“Since there are differences in the distribution of risk factors in Asian populations, it will be of interest to compare the population-attributable fractions…in Asia compared with populations outside of Asia,” the researchers added. “Further work is also needed to study risk factors in Asian populations with a focus on rare histological subtypes, when possible, and to evaluate risk factors (such as endometriosis) that were not available in the current study.”
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
