Research summary
March 2007
Obesity and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer
Summary
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 28 studies has found an association between obesity and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Australian researchers have reported the results of a meta-analysis in the March 2007 issue of European Journal of Cancer. All eligible studies assessed the association between overweight, obesity and ovarian cancer. ‘Overweight’ was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25-29.9. ‘Obesity’ was defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.
The researchers found consistent evidence that the risk of ovarian cancer increases with increasing BMI. They estimated that the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among obese women may be 30 per cent higher than women with a BMI in the ‘healthy range’ (18.5-24.9). The risk for overweight women was less than for obese women, but may still be 16 per cent higher than women with a ‘healthy’ BMI.
The researchers concluded that obesity in adulthood is a modest but statistically significant risk factor for ovarian cancer, suggesting that ovarian cancer should be added to the list of cancers likely to be related to obesity.
National Breast Cancer Centre comment
This meta-analysis adds to a body of work on the association between obesity and cancer, which is of increasing public health significance given the current rates of obesity in Australia.
Obesity is an established risk factor for several hormone-related cancers, including post-menopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer, but until now the evidence for an effect on risk of ovarian cancer has been inconclusive.
In contrast with other known risk factors for ovarian cancer, such as increasing age and a family history of the disease, obesity is one risk factor that is potentially modifiable.