Ovarian Cancer and the Risk of Cataract Episodes: A Nationwide Cohort Study
Both cataracts and ovarian cancer are found in the elderly. It has been known that cataracts may develop in patients with cancer who have therapy, most often due to radiation but also as a side-effect of chemo.
One of the important causes of cataract is high oxidative stress, which is an imbalance of free oxygen and antioxidants. This is also linked to many cancers including ovarian cancer.A retrospective survey looks at the incidence of cataract in patients with ovarian cancer compared to the general population.
Using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database, 5000 women with ovarian cancer were matched with 20,000 women who were cancer free. About 10% of the cancer group had cataract, of whom less than half required surgery. Comparison with the control group showed a slight increase in cataract diagnosis of about 7%, for those women with cancer.
This study is limited by the small ethnic variation with most of the women being Han Taiwanese. However, the authors suggest that routine eye examination should be part of standard care for women with ovarian cancer.
