Gestational Weight Gain and the Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
March 18, 2021
Researchers from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh examined the association between gestational weight gain (GWG) and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in a study recently published in Cancer Causes & Control.
In women who were normal or underweight at the study baseline, greater average GWG was not associated with EOC; however, among women who were overweight or obese at study baseline, greater average GWG was associated with EOC.
Researchers postulate that maternal post-partum weight retention — not gestational weight gain — may impact subsequent risk of EOC. If this conclusion is supported in other studies designed to assess this question directly, then counseling women on the importance of healthy weight management after a pregnancy could provide another means to help women reduce their risk of this often-fatal malignancy.
Learn more here.
UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Authors
Zhuxuan Fu
Graduate Student Researcher
Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Joseph L. Kelley, MD
Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Clinical Investigator, Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation
Robert P. Edwards, MD
Milton Lawrence McCall Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Co-Director, Gynecologic Oncology Research, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
Francesmary Modugno, MS, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Gynecologic Cancer Biospecimen and Data Bank Site Co-Leader, Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation
Reference
Fu Z, Kelley JL, Odunsi K, Edwards RP, Moysich K, Modugno F. Gestational weight gain and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2021 Feb 22. doi: 10.1007/s10552-021-01405-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33616777.
