Ovarian volumes among women with endometrial carcinoma: Associations with risk factors and serum hormones

Abstract

Objectives. Data suggest that post-menopausal women with larger ovaries are at increased risk for endometrial carcinoma; however, analyses comparing ovarian volume to serum hormone levels are limited. Accordingly, we assessed ovarian volumes in relation to serum sex hormone levels among post-menopausal women with endometrial carcinoma who participated in a multi-center case–control study. Methods. Data for established risk and protective factors for endometrial carcinoma were collected via in-person interviews. Ovarian volumes were estimated from pathology reports. Associations between exposures and age-adjusted ovarian volumes were analyzed for 175 cases with available data. For a subset of 135 cases, we analyzed relationships between ovarian volume, adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI), and serum hormone levels by analysis of variance. Results. Ovarian volume declined progressively from 1.83 cm 3 among women ages 55–59 years to 1.23 cm 3 among women age 70 years or older ( p-trend = 0.02). Larger ovarian volume was associated with early menarche ( p-trend = 0.03), having given birth ( p = 0.01), and weakly with elevated BMI ( p-trend = 0.06). After adjustment, increased ovarian volume was associated with higher estradiol ( p-trend = 0.007); albumin-bound estradiol ( p-trend = 0.01); and free estradiol ( p-trend = 0.006) levels; androstenedione, estrone and estrone sulfate showed similar, though non-significant associations. Conclusions. Among women with endometrial carcinoma, larger ovaries were associated with higher serum levels of estrogens. Further studies examining the role of the ovaries in post-menopausal hormonal carcinogenesis are warranted.