Early menarche predicts decreased survival with ovarian cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An early age at menarche and a high number of lifetime ovulatory cycles are both associated with decreased survival in women with ovarian cancer, according to study findings in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention.

"Although we have relatively good knowledge about the influence of reproductive factors on the risk of developing ovarian cancer, knowledge is rather limited regarding the reproductive factors that may influence survival after diagnosis with this serious disease," Dr. Cheryl L. Robbins said in a statement.

Dr. Robbins' group undertook a longitudinal analysis of data from 410 women, 20 to 54 years of age, who were enrolled in the Cancer and Steroid Hormone study (1980 to 1982) as incident cases of ovarian cancer. During a follow-up of 9.2 years, 212 women died.

The results indicate that patients with the highest number of lifetime ovulatory cycles were 67% more likely to die over roughly 9 years of follow-up than were those with the lowest number of cycles.

Likewise, menarche before 12 years of age increased the risk of death by 51% relative to menarche at age 14 or older.

The 15-year survival rates for women with the most lifetime ovulatory cycles and those with the fewest were 33.3% and 56.7%, respectively.

"The significance of this paper is in suggesting new research directions, not in any immediate treatment changes," Dr. Mary B. Daly, an editorial board member with Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, said in a statement.

"The next steps," Dr. Daly added, "would be to study this association in a prospective study, then to characterize molecular and genetic profiles to ovarian tumors and compare these profiles among different levels of exposure to reproductive hormones."

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