Dietary Fat Intake and Ovarian Cancer in a Cohort of US Women

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that high intake of fats and fat-rich foods may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. The authors examined these relations in the Nurses' Health Study cohort. Dietary intake was assessed in 1980, 1984, 1986, and 1990 by using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Food data were used to calculate intake of various fats and fatty acids. For best reflection of long-term intake, an updated, cumulative, averaged measure of fat intake was used to predict incidence of ovarian cancer. Between 1980 and 1996, 301 incident cases of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer were confirmed among the 80,258 participants who completed the baseline food frequency questionnaire. There was no evidence of a positive association between intake of any type of fat and ovarian cancer risk, even after adjustment of fat subtypes for one another. Women in the highest quintile of total fat intake were not at increased risk compared with those in the lowest quintile (multivariate relative risk = 1.03, 95 percent confidence interval: 0.72, 1.45, p for trend = 0.97). Intakes of fat-rich foods were also not appreciably associated with ovarian cancer risk, although an increase in risk with frequent intake of eggs was observed. Overall, results suggest no association between intake of any type of fat and ovarian cancer.

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cancer Risk

“…50 The other found no effect of different kinds of fat, including the omega-3 fatty acids DHA, EPA, and ALA, on the incidence of ovarian cancer among women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study. 49 In this latter study, no evidence of an association between intake of any type of fat including DHA, EPA, and ALA and the incidence of ovarian cancer was found. Secondary analyses showed that total fat intake (ie, different levels of total fat intake) had no effect on the development of specific subtypes of ovarian cancer (serous, mucinous, and endometrial tumors).…”

“…35,41 Blinded assessment of exposure and case status when ascertaining case and exposure status, respectively, was reported for only 3 cohorts: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 36,54,[57][58][59] the Netherlands Health Study, 7,8 and the Nurses' Health Study. 30,31,38,48,49,52 More than half of these reports described the effect of omega-3 fatty acid on 1 of 3 types of cancer: breast, 7,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35] colorectal, 5,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] and prostate. 8,[53][54][55][56][57][58] The remaining publications described the effects of omega-3 fatty acid on the incidence of 8 different types of cancer with only 1 or 2 publications describing the effects on each of the following types of cancer: aerodigestive, bladder, lung, lymphoma (non-Hodgkin), ovarian, pancreatic, skin (basal cell carcinoma), and stomach.…”

Trans-fatty acids and cancer: the evidence reviewed

“…However, the evidence for an association with particular types of prostate cancer (41) or in individuals with specific genotypes (38) warrants further investigation. The strong association between NHL and trans-FA intakes reported from the Nurses' Health Study (43) will require further verification by means of intake data based on more recent estimates of trans-FA in this study population.…”

“…Data from the Nurses' Health Study were also used to assess the possible link between diet and risk of ovarian cancer (43) .…”

A prospective study of postmenopausal hormone use and ovarian cancer risk

“…Data on family history of ovarian cancer, first collected in 1992, was evaluated as a potential confounder by examining its distribution across PMH categories in 1992. Fat intake and body mass index (BMI) were not considered confounders because they were not associated with postmenopausal ovarian cancer in previous NHS analyses (Bertone et al, 2002;Fairfield et al, 2002). However, BMI and having an intact reproductive system (no tubal ligation or hysterectomy) were evaluated as potential effect modifiers.…”