Aspirin use was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer, especially among daily users of low-dose aspirin. These findings suggest that the same aspirin regimen proven to protect against cardiovascular events and several cancers could reduce the risk of ovarian cancer 20% to 34% depending on frequency and dose of use.

Purpose African American (AA) women are more likely than white women to be obese and to be diagnosed with ER- and triple negative (TN) breast cancer, but few studies have evaluated the impact of obesity and body fat distribution on breast cancer subtypes in AA women. We evaluated these associations in the AMBER Consortium by pooling data from four large studies. Methods Cases were categorized according to hormone receptor status as ER+, ER-, and TN (ER-, PR-, and HER2-) based on pathology data. A total of 2,104 ER+ cases, 1,070 ER- cases (including 491 TN cases), and 12,060 controls were included. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using logistic regression, taking into account breast cancer risk factors. Results In postmenopausal women, higher recent (most proximal value to diagnosis/index date) BMI was associated with increased risk of ER+ cancer (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.02–1.67 for BMI≥35 vs <25 kg/m2) and with decreased risk of TN tumors (OR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.39–0.93 for BMI≥35 vs. <25). High young adult BMI was associated with decreased premenopausal ER+ cancer and all subtypes of postmenopausal cancer, and high recent waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with increased risk of pre-menopausal ER+ tumors (OR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.01–1.80) and all tumor subtypes combined in postmenopausal women (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.02–1.56). Conclusions The impact of general and central obesity varies by menopausal status and hormone receptor subtype in AA women. Our findings imply different mechanisms for associations of adiposity with TN and ER+ breast cancers.

Although obesity is a well known risk factor for several cancers, its role on cancer survival is poorly understood. We conducted a systematic literature review to assess the current evidence evaluating the impact of body adiposity on the prognosis of the three most common obesity-related cancers: prostate, colorectal, and breast. We included 33 studies of breast cancer, six studies of prostate cancer, and eight studies of colorectal cancer. We note that the evidence over-represents breast cancer survivorship research and is sparse for prostate and colorectal cancers. Overall, most studies support a relationship between body adiposity and site-specific mortality or cancer progression. However, most of the research was not specifically designed to study these outcomes and, therefore, several methodological issues should be considered before integrating their results to draw conclusions. Further research is urgently warranted to assess the long-term impact of obesity among the growing population of cancer survivors.