Intake of Fat and the Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study

Abstract

Worldwide, ovarian cancer is the 8th most common cancer type for women. According to The World Cancer Research Fund, the research on the associations between intake of fat and risk of ovarian cancer is limited. The aim was to study the possible associations between the intake of total fat, trans fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and the risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) among the participants in the Norwegian Woman and Cancer (NOWAC) study. This thesis included 90 792 Norwegian women by random selection and were recruited through the National Population Register from 1996 to 2004. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to study the associations between intake of fat and risk of EOC. 596 cases of EOC were identified during follow up. All p-values were >0.05 and no associations were found when adjusting for age, education, or family history of breast cancer in the analyses. Overall, no associations between the intake of fat and risk of developing EOC among the participants in the NOWAC study was observed. However, there are inconclusive results reported from other studies, and more research is needed.