Several occupations appear to be closely linked to ovarian cancer risk, according to a new analysis.
Researchers have examined some of the potentially modifiable risk factors for ovarian cancer, which remains poorly understood.
Dr Anita Koushik of the University of Montreal in Canada, and colleagues believed that certain occupations and workplace exposures may be linked with ovarian cancer.
Previous evidence was limited to just a few occupations and workplaces, so they carried out a population-based study of 491 with ovarian cancer and 897 similar women without, using lifetime occupational histories.
Participants were aged 18 to 79 years and were recruited from seven Montreal hospitals between 2010 and 2016 after being diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer.
Analysis showed a raised rate of ovarian cancer for women who had spent ten years or more as accountants, hairdressers, barbers or beauticians.
Rates were also higher for those exposed over time to cosmetic talc, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, certain fibres, organic dyes and pigments.
In Occupational & Environmental Medicine yesterday, the authors wrote: “Certain occupations, industries and specific occupational exposures may be associated with ovarian cancer risk. Further research is needed to provide a more solid grounding for any inferences in this regard.”
Writing in a commentary, Dr Melissa Friesen of the National Cancer Institute, Maryland, USA, suggests that this study “is best interpreted as hypothesis generating, with suggestive evidence for workplace exposures in certain occupations”.
She writes: “The limited representation of women in occupational cancer research studies has been recognised for decades.
“There is still a need for improvement. There are many opportunities to improve the exposure assessment in research studies to characterise women’s occupational exposures.”
Leung, L. et al. Occupational environment and ovarian cancer risk. Occupational & Environmental Medicine 11 July 2023 doi: 10.1136/oemed-2022-108557
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