Obese women more at risk for Ovarian cancer

A study at National Cancer Institute USA, has linked obesity with Ovarian cancer.According to them,Obese older women who never took postmenopausal hormones are at almost double the risk of developing ovarian cancer compared to their normal weight peers.But among all older women, however, obese women were only at slightly higher risk for ovarian cancer than those of normal weight.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute looked at differences among women who had never used hormone replacement therapy because it may play a role in the development of cancer.“We speculate that what may be driving the increased risk among the obese is the surplus estrogen produced by the fat cells in the body,” said Dr. Michael F. Leitzmann, a former investigator at the National Cancer Institute and first author of the paper.

Oral contraceptive use and having had children are associated with a decreased risk of ovarian cancer, while a family history of the disease and hormone therapy use are associated with an increased risk.

This study has to be conducted in other parts of the world before the findings can be generalised according to the researchers.