title: Polycystic ovaries and the risk of breast cancer.
abstract: Data from a case-control study that was conducted between 1980 and 1982 were analyzed to investigate the possible association between polycystic ovaries and the risk of breast cancer. The multicenter, population-based study included in-home interviews with 4,730 women with breast cancer and 4,688 control women aged 20-54 years. The age-adjusted odds ratio for breast cancer among women with a self-reported history of physician-diagnosed polycystic ovaries was 0.52 (95% confidence interval 0.32-0.87). The inverse association was not an artifact of infertility, age at first birth, or surgical menopause. Because women with this syndrome have abnormal levels of certain endogenous hormones, the observation of a low risk of breast cancer in this group may provide new insights into hormonal influences on breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, NY.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Gammon
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D015987:Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology