Bessy Binu Sam1, Vijayan Chandrathil Parameswaran Nair2, Vishnupriya Prakasan3, Anu Susan Sam4
BACKGROUND
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal malignancy of the female reproductive system. Risk of ovarian cancer increases with age, but the rate of increase slows after the menopause. Tubal ligation confers long-term protection against ovarian cancer. This observational study examines the factors affecting the ovarian cancer risk and also studies the correlation between ovarian cancer risks with reproductive experiences.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Medical College, Kottayam, Kerala, for a period of one year. Information was collected from 112 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer as treatment group and 336 women without ovarian cancer as control group. A binary logit regression analysis was conducted to study the factors that are affecting the ovarian cancer. The Chi-square test was done to find the association of ovarian cancer risk with different reproductive experiences.
RESULTS We found that months of lactation, tubal ligation and oral contraceptive pills had a negative impact on ovarian cancer risk. Our study also proved that age of first pregnancy, age of menarche and age of menopause had a significant association with ovarian cancer risk.
CONCLUSION Our findings signify the importance of providing awareness to the public regarding the prevalence, symptomatology, screening/diagnostic techniques, treatment modalities and prognosis of ovarian cancer. The dual benefits of tubal ligation need to be made aware among the public and tubal sterilisation rates have to be enhanced. We recommend the promotion of tubal ligation as a permanent method of contraception in those who have completed their families.
