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Oral contraceptives and the risk of hereditary ovarian cancer. Hereditary Ovarian Cancer Clinical Study Group

Narod, S A ; Risch, H ; Moslehi, R ; Dørum, A ; Neuhausen, S ; Olsson, Håkan LU orcid ; Provencher, D ; Radice, P ; Evans, G and Bishop, S , et al. (1998) In New England Journal of Medicine 339(7). p.8-424
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Women with mutations in either the BRCA1 or the BRCA2 gene have a high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. Oral contraceptives protect against ovarian cancer in general, but it is not known whether they also protect against hereditary forms of ovarian cancer.

METHODS: We enrolled 207 women with hereditary ovarian cancer and 161 of their sisters as controls in a case-control study. All the patients carried a pathogenic mutation in either BRCA1 (179 women) or BRCA2 (28 women). The control women were enrolled regardless of whether or not they had either mutation. Lifetime histories of oral-contraceptive use were obtained by interview or by written questionnaire and were compared between patients and control women, after... (More)

BACKGROUND: Women with mutations in either the BRCA1 or the BRCA2 gene have a high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. Oral contraceptives protect against ovarian cancer in general, but it is not known whether they also protect against hereditary forms of ovarian cancer.

METHODS: We enrolled 207 women with hereditary ovarian cancer and 161 of their sisters as controls in a case-control study. All the patients carried a pathogenic mutation in either BRCA1 (179 women) or BRCA2 (28 women). The control women were enrolled regardless of whether or not they had either mutation. Lifetime histories of oral-contraceptive use were obtained by interview or by written questionnaire and were compared between patients and control women, after adjustment for year of birth and parity.

RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratio for ovarian cancer associated with any past use of oral contraceptives was 0.5 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.3 to 0.8). The risk decreased with increasing duration of use (P for trend, <0.001); use for six or more years was associated with a 60 percent reduction in risk. Oral-contraceptive use protected against ovarian cancer both for carriers of the BRCA1 mutation (odds ratio, 0.5; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.3 to 0.9) and for carriers of the BRCA2 mutation (odds ratio, 0.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.2 to 1.1).

CONCLUSIONS: Oral-contraceptive use may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in women with pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adult, Aged, BRCA2 Protein, Case-Control Studies, Contraceptives, Oral, Female, Genes, BRCA1, Germ-Line Mutation, Humans, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Proteins, Nuclear Family, Odds Ratio, Ovarian Neoplasms, Transcription Factors
in
New England Journal of Medicine
volume
339
issue
7
pages
5 pages
publisher
Massachusetts Medical Society
external identifiers
  • scopus:0032514413
  • pmid:9700175
ISSN
0028-4793
DOI
10.1056/NEJM199808133390702
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e2ea75dc-a985-4e66-90e9-ed0aca23cf62
date added to LUP
2016-09-18 12:36:11
date last changed
2024-05-04 08:55:57
@article{e2ea75dc-a985-4e66-90e9-ed0aca23cf62,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND: Women with mutations in either the BRCA1 or the BRCA2 gene have a high lifetime risk of ovarian cancer. Oral contraceptives protect against ovarian cancer in general, but it is not known whether they also protect against hereditary forms of ovarian cancer.</p><p>METHODS: We enrolled 207 women with hereditary ovarian cancer and 161 of their sisters as controls in a case-control study. All the patients carried a pathogenic mutation in either BRCA1 (179 women) or BRCA2 (28 women). The control women were enrolled regardless of whether or not they had either mutation. Lifetime histories of oral-contraceptive use were obtained by interview or by written questionnaire and were compared between patients and control women, after adjustment for year of birth and parity.</p><p>RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratio for ovarian cancer associated with any past use of oral contraceptives was 0.5 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.3 to 0.8). The risk decreased with increasing duration of use (P for trend, &lt;0.001); use for six or more years was associated with a 60 percent reduction in risk. Oral-contraceptive use protected against ovarian cancer both for carriers of the BRCA1 mutation (odds ratio, 0.5; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.3 to 0.9) and for carriers of the BRCA2 mutation (odds ratio, 0.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.2 to 1.1).</p><p>CONCLUSIONS: Oral-contraceptive use may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in women with pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.</p>}},
  author       = {{Narod, S A and Risch, H and Moslehi, R and Dørum, A and Neuhausen, S and Olsson, Håkan and Provencher, D and Radice, P and Evans, G and Bishop, S and Brunet, J S and Ponder, B A}},
  issn         = {{0028-4793}},
  keywords     = {{Adult; Aged; BRCA2 Protein; Case-Control Studies; Contraceptives, Oral; Female; Genes, BRCA1; Germ-Line Mutation; Humans; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Proteins; Nuclear Family; Odds Ratio; Ovarian Neoplasms; Transcription Factors}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{8--424}},
  publisher    = {{Massachusetts Medical Society}},
  series       = {{New England Journal of Medicine}},
  title        = {{Oral contraceptives and the risk of hereditary ovarian cancer. Hereditary Ovarian Cancer Clinical Study Group}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199808133390702}},
  doi          = {{10.1056/NEJM199808133390702}},
  volume       = {{339}},
  year         = {{1998}},
}