Why ovarian cancer incidence is up

Reproductive Shifts and Ovarian Cancer Risk in Women Aged 40 Years or Older

https://tinyurl.com/58neb6xd

For many years the incidence of ovarian cancer was seen to be decreasing, this was thought mostly to be due to hormonal contraception, which results in fewer lifetime menstrual cycles. Now in some populations, especially South-East Asia the incidence is rising.

This population survey of women in South Korea looks at why this is occurring. The study group includes all women aged 40 or more who underwent health screening in 2009 and were followed until diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Those women who had delivered two or more children and breast-fed had a lower risk of ovarian cancer as did women with a history of more than one year’s use of hormonal contraception.

In the last 50 years there has been a dramatic decline in fertility for women in South Korea from a rate of more than four to less than one lifetime births. Also, the menarche is happening earlier. These two factors have the potential to markedly increase the number of lifetime menstrual cycles and warrant close attention to prevent yet more increase in the number of women who develop ovarian cancer.