Epidemiology of cancer of the ovary

One hundred-fifty ovarian cancer patients plus eight with a diagnosis other than adenocarcinoma and endometrioid cancers and 300 age-matched control patients were interviewed in New York hospitals. There were no essential differences in marital status, nor in other marital or pregnancy factors. The study suggested a trend for more ovarian cancer patients to have dysmenorrhea. These data may be artifactitious and further studies in this area are indicated. Among the gynecologic findings, the ovarian cancer patient gave a more frequent history of heavy menstrual bleeding and earlier menopause than the control group. A comparison of mortality rates in Americans and Japanese Americans suggests possible differences in the etiologic background of pre- and postmenopausal ovarian cancer patients. The increase of ovarian cancer among Japanese immigrants to the U.S. represents a primary lead to the etiology of this type of cancer. It is suggested that further work done on Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and other native Americans in terms of the effect of diet on steroids with particular reference to their effect on various target organs.