Family history of cancer and risk of ovarian cancer

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between history of cancer in first-degree relatives and ovarian cancer risk. Between 1992 and 1999, we conducted a case–control study in Italy on 1031 women with epithelial ovarian cancer and 2411 women admitted to hospital for acute non-neoplastic conditions. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression, adjusted for age and several potential confounders. Overall, 27 cases and nine controls reported a family history of ovarian cancer (OR=7.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1–16). The OR was 23 (95% CI 2.6–212) below age 50 years, based on 10 cases and one control only. The risk of ovarian cancer was also increased in women with a family history of cancer of the stomach (OR=1.5; 95% CI 1.0–2.1), intestine (OR=1.7; 95% CI 1.2–2.4), lung (OR=1.3; 95% CI 1.0–1.8), breast (OR=2.3; 95% CI 1.7–3.1), lymphomas (OR=2.3; 95% CI 1.0–5.1) and all sites (OR=1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9). Our results confirm the higher ovarian cancer risk in women with a family history of ovarian and breast cancer, and suggest a few associations with other sites.