Women With Endometriosis at Increased Risk for Ovarian Cancer

Jul 19, 2024

Photo Credit: ALIOUI Mohammed Elamine

Women with endometriosis have an increased risk of ovarian cancer, with the highest risk seen for women with deep infiltrating endometriosis and/or ovarian endometriomas, according to a study published online July 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Mollie E. Barnard, Sc.D., from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and colleagues examined the associations of endometriosis subtypes with te incidence of ovarian cancer in a population-based cohort study using data from the Utah Population Database. A total of 78,893 women with endometriosis were matched in a 1:5 ratio to women without endometriosis.

The age at first endometriosis diagnosis was 36 years. Overall, 597 women had ovarian cancer. The researchers found that the risk for ovarian cancer was higher for women with versus those without endometriosis (adjusted hazard ratio, 4.20), and the risk for type I ovarian cancer was especially high (adjusted hazard ratio, 7.48). For all ovarian cancers, type I ovarian cancer, and type II ovarian cancer, the risk was highest for women with deep infiltrating endometriosis and/or ovarian endometriomas (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.66, 18.96, and 3.72, respectively).

“Studies that can better characterize the biology underlying these associations are urgently needed to guide improved ovarian cancer screening and prevention strategies among women with severe endometriosis, with or without other important ovarian cancer risk factors,” the authors write.

One author received fees from Epi Excellence, and a second received fees from Epidemiologic Research & Methods.

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