Adult body mass index and risk of ovarian cancer by subtype: a Mendelian randomization study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Observational studies have reported a positive association between body mass index (BMI) and ovarian cancer risk. However, questions remain as to whether this represents a causal effect, or holds for all histological subtypes. The lack of association observed for serous cancers may, for instance, be due to disease-associated weight loss. Mendelian randomization (MR) uses genetic markers as proxies for risk factors to overcome limitations of observational studies. We used MR to elucidate the relationship between BMI and ovarian cancer, hypothesizing that genetically predicted BMI would be associated with increased risk of non-high grade serous ovarian cancers (non-HGSC) but not HGSC.

Methods

We pooled data from 39 studies (14 047 cases, 23 003 controls) in the Ovar

SUBMITTER: Dixon SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5644573 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature