Oral contraceptives decrease the prevalence of ovarian cancer in the hen.

ABSTRACT: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of reproductive cancer death in U.S. women. This high mortality rate is due to the lack of early detection methods and ineffectiveness of therapy for advanced disease. Until more effective screening methods and therapies are developed, chemoprevention strategies are warranted. The hen has a high spontaneous prevalence of ovarian cancer and has been used as a model for studying ovarian cancer chemoprevention. In this study, we used the hen to determine the effect of progestin alone, estrogen alone, or progestin and estrogen in combination (as found in oral contraceptives) on ovarian cancer prevalence. We found that treatment with progestin alone and in combination with estrogen decreased the prevalence of ovarian cancer. A significant risk reduction of 91

SUBMITTER: Trevino LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3273612 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature