ASPO Abstracts
Genital Powder Use and Risk of Ovarian Cancer: A pooled analysis
Category: Lifestyles Behavior, Energy Balance & Chemoprevention
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Purpose: The relationship between genital powder use and risk of ovarian cancer is not well-understood. Positive associations reported in case-control studies generally have not been confirmed in prospective cohort studies, which though not subject to recall bias, may lack sufficient power to identify modest associations. Methods: To address this, we pooled data from four large prospective cohort studies: Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, Sister Study, and Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. Altogether, we had data from 250,641 women, including 2,073 who developed ovarian cancer. Results: Genital powder use was common (38% of non-cases ever used, versus 45% of cases) and varied somewhat by study sample (26%-53%). Using Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for potential confounders, we observed that ever powder use was associated with an 9% increase in the hazard of developing ovarian cancer, compared to never users (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00, 1.20). The association was similar in frequent users (HR=1.10, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.25 for use >1/week versus none), but not among long-term users (HR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.29 for >20 years of use versus none). The strongest association was observed among women with patent reproductive system, e.g. had a uterus and had not had tubal ligation, at the time powder exposure was assessed (HR=1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.29). There were no clear differences by ovarian cancer subtype. Conclusions: This large, well-powered prospective study observed a weak association of genital powder with ovarian cancer risk, which appeared to be limited to women with patent reproductive tracts.
Keywords: ovarian cancer, powder, talc