Multiple Miscarriages Are Associated with the Risk of Ovarian Cancer: Results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
Year: 2012
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: While the risk of ovarian cancer clearly reduces with each full-term pregnancy, the effect of incomplete pregnancies is unclear. We investigated whether incomplete pregnancies (miscarriages and induced abortions) are associated with risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. This observational study was carried out in female participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). A total of 274,442 women were followed from 1992 until 2010. The baseline questionnaire elicited information on miscarriages and induced abortions, reproductive history, and lifestyle-related factors. During a median follow-up of 11.5 years, 1,035 women were diagnosed with incident epithelial ovarian cancer. Despite the lack of an overall association (ever vs. never), risk of ovarian cancer was higher among women with multiple incomplete pregnancies (HR(≥4vs.0): 1.74, 95% CI: 1.20-2.70; number of cases in this category: n = 23). This association was particularly evident for multiple miscarriages (HR(≥4vs.0): 1.99, 95% CI: 1.06-3.73; number of cases in this category: n = 10), with no significant association for multiple induced abortions (HR(≥4vs.0): 1.46, 95% CI: 0.68-3.14; number of cases in this category: n = 7). Our findings suggest that multiple miscarriages are associated with an increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, possibly through a shared cluster of etiological factors or a common underlying pathology. These findings should be interpreted with caution as this is the first study to show this association and given the small number of cases in the highest exposure categories.
Source: PLoS ONE
Authors: Marieke G. M. Braem, N. Charlotte Onland-Moret, Leo J. Schouten, Roy F. P. M. Kruitwagen, Annekatrin Lukanova, Naomi E. Allen, Petra A. Wark, Anne Tjønneland, Louise Hansen, Christina Marie Braüner, Kim Overvad, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon, Nathalie Chabbert-Buffet, Birgit Teucher, Anna Floegel, Heiner Boeing, Antonia Trichopoulou, George Adarakis, Maria Plada, Sabina Rinaldi, Veronika Fedirko, Isabelle Romieu, Valeria Pala, Rocco Galasso, Carlotta Sacerdote, Domenico Palli, Rosario Tumino, H. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Inger Torhild Gram, Oxana Gavrilyuk, Eiliv Lund, Maria-José Sánchez, Catalina Bonet, Maria-Dolores Chirlaque, Nerea Larrañaga, Aurelio Barricarte Gurrea, Jose R. Quirós, Annika Idahl, Nina Ohlson, Eva Lundin, Karin Jirström, Salma Butt, Konstantinos K. Tsilidis, Kay-Tee Khaw, Nick Wareham, Elio Riboli, Rudolf Kaaks, Petra H. M. Peeters
Institutions: University Medical Center Utrecht, Maastricht University, Maastricht University Medical Centre, German Cancer Research Center, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, Danish Cancer Society, Aarhus University, Inserm, Institut Gustave Roussy, Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Tenon, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, German Institute of Human Nutrition, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Hellenic Health Foundation, Centre international de recherche sur le cancer, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico della Basilicata, Italian institute for Genomic Medicine, Piedmont Reference Center for Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention, Istituto per lo Studio e la Prevenzione Oncologica, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Andalusian School of Public Health, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Basque Government, Gobierno del Principado de Asturias, Umeå University, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, University of Ioannina, University of Cambridge, MRC Epidemiology Unit
Language: English
Topic: Cancer Risks and Factors
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Funders: Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer, Cancer Research UK, European Commission, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Cancerfonden, Ligue Contre le Cancer, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, KWF Kankerbestrijding, Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Deutsche Krebshilfe, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, Greece, Hellenic Health Foundation, Medical Research Council, World Cancer Research Fund, Instituto de Salud Carlos III
OpenAlex ID: W2126508897